


We Could Be Heroes

by thecarlonethatalsowrites



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, No hard feelings, Other, brief hollence, everyone is angsty, it turns into hollstein though, lawstein brotp, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-04-14 23:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4583514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecarlonethatalsowrites/pseuds/thecarlonethatalsowrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Lawrence is the local hero of Silas City. She spends her nights as the Flaming Mystic, battling the criminal underbelly, armed with her powers and a mask. And an annoying sidekick who can't decide on a name. The life of a superhero hasn't gone as smoothly as she'd expected, but any past bumps seem like nothing when she encounters the most nefarious and dangerous criminals that she has ever gone up against.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my Zeta Society super hero au! Huge thanks to [fancytartishead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fancytartishead/pseuds/fancytartishead) for being such an awesome beta!

 

“Hey! Treadmill hottie! Wait up!” Danny turned her head to look back at the gym. She caught sight of the guy who was calling for her and barely bit back a groan.

 

“Treadmill hottie? Is that really the best you can do?” She sent him a scathing look.

 

“At the moment, yeah, cause you won’t tell me your name.” Kirsch sent her a poorly executed wink, which Danny rolled her eyes at. If there were any drawbacks to community gyms, the jerks who tried to flirt with her was definitely one

 

“Please. I’ve had better nicknames from my cat. And those consist of various lengths of meow.” Why was she talking to this guy? She was only encouraging him.

 

“So you’re a cat person, huh?” Dammit.

 

“Shared cat.” Danny corrected herself. “Don’t you have anything better to do with your time than harass me? It’s getting kind of old.” She started walking at a brisk pace away from the gym.

 

“Nah, just working out and playing Xbox.” The dudebro walked backwards, slightly in front of her and to the side so that he could look her in the face. “Otherwise, you’re the best thing in my life at the moment.”

 

“And yet you don’t even know my name. How sad your existence must be.”

 

“I’ve told you mine. It’s polite to respond with your own.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Danny stopped suddenly.

 

“You disgust me.” She was about to say more, but was cut off by a sudden siren. A police car zipped by them.

 

“...10-89 on 22nd and 3rd..” She heard briefly. Instantly Danny tensed. She’d been doing this long enough to have picked up on most police codes. She knew what was happening. Kirsch tensed as well, and they both stopped walking.

 

“Uh, listen I have to-”

 

“-left my shorts at the gym.” They both tried to excuse themselves at the same time. Danny narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but Kirsch just sent her one of his puppy grins and darted around her in the direction of the gym. Danny didn’t care whether he forgot his football field, at least she had an excuse to ditch him in order to duck into an ally. Which she did the first opportunity she got.

 

It was a simple matter to change into her suit. With the ease of practice Danny tore off her jacket while pulling the protective leggings from her gym bag and gloves onto her hands. She already had on her red armored vest, she’d changed into it in the locker room and hid it under her jacket. Leggings were difficult to hide in shorts, however. The whole process took mere seconds, and Danny stashed her bag behind a dumpster. It would stink like hell later, but a bomb threat took precedence over her already smelly gym bag. Especially in this neighborhood. Danny was already lifting herself through the air as she fitted on the mask that covered her cheeks, nose and mouth. It was important to keep her secret identity, and her outfiter had promised that the mask would filter dust and help her breathe easier as well as keep her secret identity.

 

She only lifted herself to the peak of the building before she was running off to the threat, leaping from rooftop to rooftop and occasionally giving herself a psychic boost over gaps that were too wide for even her long legs to span. The rooftop system was far more efficient than the jumbled traffic of the roads and Danny reached the bomb sight long before the cops showed up.

 

“Of course. It’s always an abandoned warehouse.” She said to herself.

 

“Better than a non abandoned warehouse.” A painfully familiar voice said. For a moment, Danny almost thought it sounded like someone she knew. “Gimme a lift?” He asked before she could place a face to the voice. She leaned over the edge of the building to see the small but annoying figure of her self appointed side kick waving at her from the ground.

 

“You can get up here yourself.” She told him. Her voice was somewhat muffled by the mask, but she had practice enunciating her words. “Super strength isn’t limited to your arms you know.” He shrugged and crouched down before jumping up. He sprang to the roof, but landed precariously on the edge. Danny shot out a hand and grabbed him by the forearm before he could fall.

 

“Telekinesis isn’t limited to civies.” He commented. Danny rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the catch bro.”

 

“What ridiculous name are you going by this time?” She refused to acknowledge his thanks and instead changed the subject.

 

“I was thinking Krusher. You know, cause I’m strong.”

 

“I got it. How long is this name going to stick? Longer than the last?”

 

“Dude, K-man was an awesome name that had a good run! Krusher just fits me better!” He grinned and flexed his arms.

 

“Whatever you say Krusher.”

 

“What’s the deal with this warehouse though. Gang? Drugs? I haven’t heard the police scanner” Krusher asked, changing the subject.

 

“Bomb.” Danny responded.

 

“Huh. Haven’t had one of those in a while.” He pounded one fist into his other palm, which connected with a solid crack. “Should be fun.”

 

“Fun? There’s a bomb in the city and...you know what nevermind.” It would be useless to try to explain to her partner the dangers; all he saw was the fun.

 

“Attack strategy Zeta. I go in fists blazing, you take out the bomb.”

 

“Whatever. Just don’t let them blow the place up.” Krusher nodded and made to leap down to the ground. “Wait!” Danny focused her powers and pulled together dumpsters, cars, and whatever she could find to block off the ally that the warehouse opened up to. “Ok, now the cops will be out of our way, and the bad guys can’t escape.”

 

“Wicked. Both the power kind and the smarts.” Krusher grinned at her. “See you on the other side!” He lept down towards the entrance of the building.

 

“Good luck.” Danny whispered to no one. It was kind of a tradition for them to do that. She quickly made her way to the building right next to the warehouse and floated herself up to the windows near the ceiling. Why were warehouse windows always so high up? It was tiring to hover in one place for long periods of time, and Krusher liked to take plenty of time to do his job.

 

Sure enough, a minute passed before Krusher was supposed to burst through the doors. And then another. Just as Danny was about to smash through the window dramatically and deal with these guys herself, Krusher finally pounded through the doors with a shout. She waited a moment more for him to attract the bad guys before smashing into the warehouse in a rain of glass herself.

 

There were eight men, all in dark gray and all carrying a semi automatic of some make or model. The six closest to Krusher rushed from the bomb in the center of the warehouse to within ten feet of him while the other two- who were slow on the reaction time- looked up at Danny, who had landed on the catwalk. It wasn’t very difficult for Danny to jam all of their weapons, all she had to do was nudge the mechanisms inside the guns. Two of the men holding rifles quickly threw down their guns, which went off when they hit the ground. The weapons were mangled bits of steel due to Danny’s tampering and the rifle’s model. Danny easily took out the two men coming for her from her perch on the catwalk by smashing their heads together with more force than probably necessary. Danny ran across the catwalk until she was directly above the bomb. She leapt down and softened her landing with a roll.

 

The bomb looked a lot bigger from the ground than high above it. It consisted of the standard timer with wires protruding from it, digging into a blob of white material that was foreign to Danny. The timer and blob rested on six fifty gallon oil drums, which she assumed were filled with oil or gas. The timer read forty five seconds and ticked down to forty before Danny realized what the white stuff was. She glanced up to find Krusher flipping and spinning in an attempt to dodge the bad guys fists and bullets. Two of them managed to unjam their guns while the rest charged Krusher with their own bodies. One of them lay unconscious on the floor, but the superhero was struggling at five against one.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Danny spotted something that made her gasp. C4 she could deal with. Semi automatics, fine. A warehouse filled with oil drums was slightly out of her alley. And by slightly she meant very. She glanced once again at Krusher, formulating a plan.

 

“Krusher, it’s C4! Switch!” He looked up at her shout and rolled out from under a bad guys punch towards the bomb. Danny charged into the fray that he left behind, dealing out blows with both her powers and her limbs. The men around her started to fall like ninepins.

 

“Mystic, what the hell do I do with this?” Krusher shouted from where he stood near the bomb. Danny cursed herself for forgetting. The oaf knew even less about defusing bombs than she did, which was saying something. At least she had the power to contain the explosion. She had to duck under the foot of another of her adversaries.

 

“Throw the timer and the C4!” She advised as she swept the foot remaining on the ground out from the man who tried to kick her.

 

“Where?!”

 

“Away!” She caught a glimpse of Krusher panicking before seeing his face set into hard lines. His mask only covered his eyes, so he was an easy read. The expression he took on was the one he did when he got an idea.

 

Danny threw up a hasty block as another of the baddies tried to take her out. If she could, she would have restrained them with her powers, but they were moving too much. She could only knock them around. Before she could land a returning blow, however, something crashed loudly above them. Her foe glanced up and got a faceful of glass and wood. Danny lifted an arm to protect her head. She glanced up when the rain of sharp material stopped a few seconds later.

 

Through the roof she saw the shadow of her partner throwing a lump of something far into the air. She lost sight of the smaller shadow that he threw, it went up so far. Krusher crashed back through the roof and Danny caught him with telepathy. She lowered him to the ground gently. He landed next to the bomb, which Danny noticed no longer had the timer and the C4 on it. Moments later an explosion rocked the sky. It was far enough away that the blast wave didn’t affect anyone except for Danny. A crushing pain in her skull nearly knocked her over.

 

“Oh yeah, incapacitate the telepath, would ya!” She yelled. When she tried to use her powers spots danced in her eyes.

 

“Sorry bro!” Krusher rushed over and punched one of the bad guys. “But your fists still work.” He grinned. Danny groaned and shook her head to clear it slightly before joining Krusher in the fight. The two of them made short work of the remaining bad guys just as the police rushed through the doors of the warehouse.

 

“Oh thank god.” The leading police officer said, re holstering his gun. “I thought we had a gang war on our hands. It’s ok guys!” He yelled to his squad. “Flaming Mystic and her sidekick are here.”

 

“Hey, I’m not a sidekick!” Krusher said indignantly.

 

“If you keep changing your name they don’t know what to call you other than that.” A reporter commented as she shoved her way into the warehouse. "Laura Hollis, I'm with the Silas Daily News." She held out a hand to Danny, who shook it after a moment.

 

"How did you get in here Laura?" The lead officer demanded.

 

"I'm very persistent." Laura said without even glancing at the officer. "Wow, you guys are so much cooler up close-"

 

"You can't be in here!" The officer grabbed her shoulder. "If your dad found out I let you in, he'd flay me alive!"

 

"I have a job to do Sergeant Ables. If you could just let me interview-"

 

"We'd have no problem taking this outside Miss Hot-Hollis!" Krusher quickly changed his word choice as Danny stepped on his foot. Hard. "No problem at all. In fact, we're just in the way of these upstanding police officers."

 

"If it's no trouble-"

 

"Of course not." Krusher sent her what he thought was a winning smile. "Right Mystic?"

 

"Uh, sure?" Danny was not prepared for Laura grabbing both her's and Krusher's hands and dragging them outside the building. Both of them towered over her, but the tiny reporter had no problem guiding them where she wanted them. Although, guiding was a generous term. She nearly tore Danny’s arm off

 

"Sorry about that, like I said I'm very persistent." She whipped out a recording device and a camera. "Would it be too much to ask for a picture and an interview? Quickly, so you can get out of here before the other reporters get past the police."

 

"Of course!" Krusher sent her another one of his cheesy smiles. "Ask away, my fair reporter."

 

"Right! So Flaming Mystic, any idea on who these guys were?" Laura eagerly clicked record on her device.

 

"Huh?" Danny asked through her spinning head. "Oh, uh, no. It's a new group, possibly a gang, maybe hired by some kind of crime boss."

 

"Yeah, they had some pretty sweet arsenal with them." Krusher added. "Semis, high grade."

 

"Do you think they pose a new threat to our city?"

 

"It's definitely a chance, and worth looking into." Danny informed her. She groaned as her head throbbed again.

 

"Are you ok Mystic?" Laura asked. She went to place a hand on Danny's arm, but quickly withdrew.

 

"Just sensitive to the shockwave. You know us telepaths." She grunted. "Uh, no further questions, please."

 

"Oh yes! Do you mind posing for a picture, then I can let you go." The reporter said it in a way that made it clear there was no choice. Krusher instantly struck a pose, his hands to his hips and his stance wide. Danny crossed her arms disapprovingly at him.

 

"Say crime fighting!" He smiled.

 

"Maybe a smile, Mystic?" Laura peeked out from behind her camera. Danny didn't see why it mattered, her mouth was covered, but she played along anyway. The camera flashed, and so did Danny's vision. She bent over with a muffled cry of pain, one palm pressed to her forehead.

 

"Yo, dude, you hurt?" Krusher's turned to her, helping her stand up straight. Danny swayed where she stood.

 

"Yeah. I uh, I have to go." There was no way she would be able to use her powers to get away, but there was a reason Danny trained her body as well as her mind. She took a running start at the wall and continued to run up it. When she lost momentum she jumped off the side of the building towards the other, which was the warehouse. Her gloves, as promised, provided traction for her to grip the wall with, and she leapt back to the other wall before she started to fall. That would have been embarrassing, especially since she heard Laura breathe "Amazing." from below. She rested on the roof, catching her breath.

 

"Hey, make sure to put in that Krusher is my name now. With a K. I'm thinking it'll stick this time."

“I’ll put it in with my article. It should get into tomorrow’s edition.” Danny overheard the reporter and her partner say before standing up and running off to where she stashed her bag.[  
](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fancytartishead/pseuds/fancytartishead)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that I said I would be updating every two weeks, but I got excited and couldn't wait to post this chapter. Enjoy!

"You look like hell today." Carmilla dropped a paper bag on the counter and Danny flinched.

" _You_ look like hell every day." She said halfheartedly from where she sat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of tea.

"I'll have you know that I am immaculate and gorgeous every day, thank you very much." Danny grunted. "What's up Lawrence, you're usually more fiery than this. And don't you have a job to be at?"

"Migraine. I called in sick." She mumbled. She closed her eyes against the glare of the kitchen lights that Carmilla turned on.

"Really? Is this a bad one?" Carmilla asked, concerned.

"Aww, look, you actually do care about me Karnstein."

"I just don't want you to keel over and die you piece of shit. Then I'd have no one to split the rent with." Danny just grunted in response. "Seriously though, maybe you should be in bed. I may have been out all night, but I know you well enough to know that this is a lingering one. Come on, I'll even help you to your room. And by help you, I mean I'll carry your tea, because you weigh a fucking ton so I can't carry you anyway, and I don't want to have to deal with your burned ass on top of your migrained one."

"My ass is great and you know it." Danny said, but obediently stood up. She didn’t sleep very well last night, what with the pain and vomiting. Carmilla picked up her tea and followed her into her room.

"Get some rest Xena. Maybe if I feel bad enough for you I'll send Bagheera in to comfort you."

"You say the sweetest things fang face." Danny muttered as she collapsed into her bed. Carmilla placed her mug of tea on her nightstand and chuckled quietly at the joke. A Halloween costume gone badly wrong was not something either of them was going to forget anytime soon. Danny’s eyes slid shut immediately when she laid down.

* * *

 

Bed turned out to be a good decision, because Danny was asleep before Carmilla left the room. She woke up to Carmilla’s black cat on her chest and her migraine a distant memory. Danny groaned aloud, not in pain, but at her own grogginess. Bagheera meowed indignantly when she moved. He leapt off of her and onto the nightstand, where Carmilla placed her tea. The mug was gone now, her roommate must have taken it.

“Shoo. You know you’re not allowed on the table.” Danny muttered to the cat as she rolled to face him. Bagheera gave her a hard stare before jumping to the floor and sauntering out of the room. Now that the cat was out of the way, Danny could see her clock. The digital clock on her nightstand said 5 pm. So she was only asleep for a few hours. It felt glorious though.

Danny stumbled from her room with a yawn. She went directly to the kitchen for a glass of water; her mouth felt like sandpaper.

“Well look who’s back from beyond the grave.” Carmilla said from behind her. Danny spun around and raised an eyebrow at her. Her roommate was lounging on the sofa, remote in one hand and protein shake in the other.

“What do you mean? I was only asleep for a few hours.” Carmilla scoffed.

“Try forty two. I had to call in sick for you. Do you have any idea how obnoxious it was to explain that no, I did not kidnap you, and yes, you were still alive, although comatose.”

“Forty two hours! Carmilla, why didn’t you wake me up?” She yelled. The other girl held up her hands defensively.

“Believe me, I tried. You sleep like the violent dead. Violent as in you tried to strangle me in your sleep when I went to wake you up. I let Bagheera keep an eye on you.” She shrugged.

“Don’t ever let anyone leave you in charge of small children.”

“That’s what you’re for, Clifford. By the way,” she nodded at the counter. “Your kids sent you a get well soon card. It’s on the counter.” Danny turned her attention to where Carmilla gestured, where there was indeed an envelope addressed to her on top of a pile of papers. She tore it open and pulled out the large cardstock card with her name on the front. Inside were the messy signatures of twenty eight fourth graders, all including messages like _Feel better Ms. Lawrence!_ and _Come back soon!_ Danny smiled fondly.

“Thanks Milla.”

“Yeah whatever. Thank your teacher friend for dropping it off.” Danny walked into the sitting area and plopped onto the couch next to Carmilla. The other girl reluctantly moved over so that Danny could sit.

“Two days and you already turn this place into your own.” She grumbled as she pushed the coffee table that was covered with used dishes further away from the couch with her feet.

“Hey stop! Now I can’t put my feet up comfortably!” Carmilla protested.

“It’s not my fault you have stubby legs. Mine are too long for the table to be that close to the couch. Besides, you shouldn’t put your feet up anyway, it’s gross.”

“You know what else is gross? The way you smell. You need a shower.” Carmilla wrinkled her nose.

“I could do that. Or I could sit here with you while you watch...reruns of Diners Drive ins and Dives?”

“I’m trash and you know it.”

“Oh hey, you didn’t pick up yesterday’s paper, did you?” Danny asked.

“I didn’t, but your friend dropped a copy off with you card. And she yelled at me for like twenty minutes for the mess.” Carmilla nodded at the coffee table.

“I can see why.” Laughed Danny. She hauled herself off of the couch and went back into the kitchen. The paper was indeed on top of the pile Perry left. Looking at it, Danny raised an eyebrow. She and Krusher made the front page. The rest of the pile turned out to be assignments that her students completed. “Of course, she dropped off work, too.”

“By the size of that pile, it’s a lot.” Her roommate smirked annoyingly and Danny rolled her eyes. Not wanting to be too distracted by the television, she moved to sit at the kitchen table.

**Dynamic Duo Duels Dangerous Do-Bads** by Laura Hollis

_Yesterday afternoon, The Flaming Mystic and her sidekick, going by Krusher for now, responded heroically to a bomb scare in the downtown area. The battle took place in an abandoned warehouse on 22nd and 3rd, and was a victory for our local heros. Police report that the Mystic and Krusher took down eight foes together and managed to detonate the bomb safely, far above the city. According to the Flaming Mystic, the perpetrators were “...a new group, possibly a gang or hired by some kind of crime boss.” Her partner Krusher added that they were heavily armed, which makes their victory even more impressive. Police quickly arrived at  the scene, but found the situation already handled by our neighborhood heros. “There would more than likely have been casualties without the intervention of the two heroes.” Sergeant Ables stated . “In fact, we now have eight suspects to interrogate, which is eight more than we would have had.” Continued on page 4_

The rest of the page was taken up by the picture of her and Krusher. They both looked pretty heroic, as the article suggested, but Krusher looked too nice and goofy in his green costume to do as his name suggested and Danny looked slightly terrifying. It was something in her eyes.

_Do I really look like that in costume?_ Danny thought to herself. She angled the paper slightly to look at the picture with a different point of view. Yep, still scary. She shrugged, it was better than the impression Krusher put up. This was the first time that they made the front page, the first time their picture was larger than wallet sized.

“Is that paper really that fascinating to you?” Carmilla asked scathingly. “Or are you still afflicted with your head condition.”

“It’s not a condition.” She shot back. “I just occasionally experience excruciating pain in my skull. Not a condition. And apparently our city’s heroes made the front page.” She rolled the paper up and threw it to Carmilla. The other girl made no effort to catch it and let it hit her square in the face. She glared at the paper, and Danny suddenly felt guilty for bringing up the Mystic.

“I’m suing you for assault.”

“Have fun with that.” Carmilla rolled her eyes, but leaned down to pick up the paper from where it fell to the ground. “Anyway, as you have so kindly pointed out, I smell like a middle school locker room. I’m going to shower and then get some work done.”

“Don’t drown.” Her roommate didn’t even look up from the paper, she was glaring at it so hard. Danny had to consciously restrain herself from rolling her eyes; one of these days she was going to strain something. She settled for a wry grin instead.

“Don’t watch too much tv, you’ll rot your brains.” She grabbed the stack of assignments; her room was on the way to the bathroom, she may as well drop them off in one trip.

“Yes _Ms. Lawrence_.” Carmilla said sarcastically. Danny rolled her eyes, but she was already out of sight in the hallway, so the other woman didn’t see her. She decided that it wasn’t worth starting another argument over; she had work to get done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! You can come hang out at my [blog](http://thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com/) and kudos and comments are greatly appreciated


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's pretty late, but it is Saturday, at least where I am. Enjoy the update!

Danny woke up bright and early the next morning to her alarm. Her migraine was gone, her powers worked, and she could finally get back to her real job . She was going to head in early, in order to get reorganized. Two days didn’t seem like a long time, but one could never be to prepared, especially if one had a job that involved children. She wore her (washed) costume underneath her work clothes, just in case, and packed her mask and gloves in her bag. Carmilla was still fast asleep on the couch where she had passed out last night, so Danny left her a note.

_Heliophobe,_

_Working today, be home late. Put some pants on, eat something, take a shower. You smell worse than I do (which is saying something, I slept for two days)._

_Beanstalk_

Danny walked through the doors of L. Morgan Elementary, Tim Horton’s in hand, and bag over her shoulder, with more than an hour before school started. Her classroom was located in one of the back halls of the school, along with the three other fourth grade classrooms. She struggled with her keys to unlock the room, as both of her hands were occupied, and headed straight for her desk once she got the room open. Next she pulled out the stack of worksheets her kids completed with the sub. She hadn’t quite gotten to all of them the previous night and wanted to make sure that they got feedback.

“Oh good you’re here today!” Danny looked up from her work to see Perry standing in the doorway. “I was worried that I would have to find you another sub.”

“So that was you?” She smiled at the vice principal. “I guess I should thank you for that.”

“Probably.” Perry walked into the room over to Danny’s desk, which she sat on the edge of. “Are you feeling better today? I went over to your apartment, but you were asleep.”

“Yeah, Carmilla told me all about your visit. She wants to ban you, for ‘excessive shrillness and OCD’.”

“Well that’s just ridiculous!” Perry huffed. “There is nothing excessive with being neat.”

“Then you’ll be happy to know that I defended your right of entry quite valiantly. You’re allowed back.”

“Only if you clean up.” Her friend smiled. Danny suddenly noticed the clock behind Perry’s head, which read 8:50.

“Wow look. It’s almost nine.”

“Yes, the children are outside waiting for the doors to unlock. I came to make sure you were here and ready to handle your students. I know how you get into your work or a book and forget when your students come through the door.”

“I do not do that! Often.” She said indignantly.

“Oh please, its nearly routine for you.” Perry chuckled. “I’ll let you get back to work, just don’t lose yourself in the ten minutes before you have to be responsible.”

“Go nag someone else.” Danny teased. Perry stood up and walked over to the door.

“You mean go do my job somewhere else.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she left the room. Danny smiled to herself and shook her head. It was good to see Perry lighten up, especially from the tense person she was in college. She was still a good person back then, but being so stressed definitely took a toll on her.

It wasn’t long before Danny started to hear kids fill the halls. The sounds of talking, laughter, and running filled the school, and it warmed Danny’s heart. She missed her job, her real one. Though she never planned on being an elementary school teacher, years of subbing warmed her up to the idea. So when Morgan Elementary offered her a job, Danny snatched up the opportunity immediately. Her kids meant everything, when she made them smile or helped them understand a new concept Danny felt like she was making a real difference in the world. A better difference than punching bad guys in the face.

Her kids started streaming into the classroom not long after the main doors opened. Danny smiled and greeted each one. They all welcomed her back with enthusiasm that only fourth graders could muster.

“You’re so much better than a sub, Ms. Lawrence.” Said one of her students, Connor, from his desk, which was part of the table closest to Danny’s desk.

“Everyone knows that!” Tanya sat down next to him. “We all think so, Conner just told you first.” She said to Danny with a serious nod.

Danny waited until the bell rang at nine to close the door and get the attention of her class. Everyone settled down quietly almost as soon as she called for them. It was good to see that two days without a real teacher didn’t break down all classroom civilization.

“Alright guys, I know you’re happy to see me. Your note was very kind!” She had to wait for a few moments as everyone asked her at the same time if she liked their signature, or their doodle. “Will you be this happy that I’m back when I say that I have bellwork for you?” That statement was met by a collective groan from the class and a shuffling of papers as they looked through their folders for their bellwork worksheets.

 

* * *

 

Danny left the school at 5:15. She was one of the last to leave the building, even though school had been out for over an hour. There were a few straggling students from clubs and teachers who were packing up. Danny was thankful that there were no after school assemblies or activities that she had to supervise; she was exhausted and wanted to get home. There was a 5:23 subway that she could catch if she hurried to the station.

Silas City traffic was heavy at this time of day. People were walking, driving, biking, and taking any manner of transportation they could get home from their daily lives. Danny fished out her subway pass as she fought her way through the crowd. Politeness had no place on such a busy sidewalk, especially if one was stuck on the curb next to cars that were whipping by on her right side. The subway station was only about a block away and Danny was about to start making her way deeper into the crowd.

“Excuse me, please just let me through!” One voice cut through the din. Danny turned her head to find a short woman trying to push to the center of the crowd. Only the top of her brunette head was visible as she struggled through the sea of people. Danny heard her grunt as she was pushed closer to the curb until suddenly her arms were pinwheeling as she struggled to keep her balance. Acting on instinct, Danny reached out and grabbed one of her hands before pulling her to the general safety of a lamppost.

“Careful, cars are deadly.” She said. She nearly gasped aloud when she recognized Laura Hollis, the reporter who had interviewed her as The Flaming Mystic three days ago. Danny recovered quickly though, she had to. There was no reason for Danny Lawrence to know Laura.

“Oh, thank you so much! I thought I was a goner for sure.” Laura smiled brightly at Danny.

“Not used to city traffic?”

“I was, but college happened and I kind of forgot.” She said sheepishly. “I’m trying to get to the subway.”

“Hey me too! Want to face the crowd together?” Danny smiled and Laura grinned right back.

“Lead the way, my tall red heroine.”

“Poetic.” Danny choked out. It was a little too close to the truth for her to be completely comfortable.

“Thanks!” Laura didn’t notice the hitch in her voice, thankfully. They pushed their way through the sidewalk towards the station. “I’m Laura by the way.”

“Danny, nice to meet you.” Laura still hadn’t let go of her grip on Danny’s hand, which Danny couldn’t protest. They soon made their way into the stream of people heading down into the subway. Laura dropped her hand to grab her pass at the last minute, so Danny went before her to keep the flow moving and people not mad at them.

“Which direction are you going?” The shorter woman asked her.

“West, towards 34th. There’s a 5:23 train I need to catch.”

“Me too! Look at that, everyday coincidences, huh?” Laura took Danny’s hand again and pulled her in the direction of the train. “Come on, we can still make it!” The two of them rushed through the station in order to catch their train. It was a close call, but Danny was able to shoot a long arm out to catch the closing doors of the last car, which was half full. She and Laura scrambled on together, receiving dirty looks from a few of the other passengers. The two of them headed for the empty space near the back of the train.

“You know your way around the subway pretty well for someone who forgot about city traffic.” Danny commented. Her companion shrugged.

“It’s one of those things you don’t really forget.” They fell silent after that and she cursed to herself. Her conversation starter had fallen flat before they could both say three sentences. Maybe that was for the best; she didn’t want to say anything that would give her away as the Flaming Mystic.

The train traveled on for several minutes more as Danny and Laura stood in awkward silence . Danny took to tapping her fingers against her bag. Then, out of nowhere, the lights of the car flickered and went out, plunging the car into darkness. There were a few shocked gasps from the passengers, but no screams. The lights were faulty sometimes, they usually came back on after a few moments. But then Danny heard a crash and the car stopped violently, throwing its passengers wildly about. Danny pushed Laura to the floor where where she would be safer, but crashed through and shattered the back window herself.

She rolled to a stop unharmed, but her work clothes were shredded. Thankfully her costume was made of sturdier stuff. This might have been a job for the Mystic anyway, so Danny tore what remained of her clothes away and grabbed her mask out of her bag. She pulled her gloves on as she made her way to the car, where she could hear screams of terror. The front few feet were crushed by a rockslide, which also cut them off from the rest of the train. She hopped through the window she was thrown out of.

“My arm! I think it’s broken!” Some businessman cried, clutching his bloody arm to his chest. Danny was about to see if she could help him when another cry distracted her.

“Someone help! That woman is stuck!” It was Laura who shouted. She was tentatively holding a pen light and kneeling by the front of the car, which had been crushed by the rockslide. The woman in question was pinned from the knees down by rubble and the crushed car.

“I’ll lift the car, you pull her out.” Danny placed a hand on Laura’s shoulder. The reporter jumped and she gasped when she caught sight of Danny, but nodded quickly at her instructions. Danny concentrated her powers, and slowly lifted the car and the rocks crushing it up a fraction of an inch. Then half a foot, where she held it as Laura pulled the woman out by her arms. Danny dropped the weight the instant Laura and the other lady were clear.

“Everyone, it’s going to be okay, the Flaming Mystic is here!” Laura yelled. The panic subsided for a moment, until everyone started clamoring towards the front of the car towards Danny. They shouted questions, asking what happened, how they were getting out.

“Please, if you could all remain calm and move out of the car. It’s unstable.” She stepped forward and ripped the doors away from the mangled car with the help of her powers. The other passengers stood stunned at the display for a moment before rushing to follow her instructions.

Outside the car was pitch black except for Laura’s pen light. She and Danny were the last out of the car, Danny supporting the injured lady. They were trapped in the subway tunnel, rocks piling up both in front of the destroyed car and several feet behind. People had begun to come out of shock and started to whip out their phones, only to be even more panicked- if the screams of “there’s no service!” were anything to go by.

“Of course there’s no service, we’re underground!” Laura yelled. Danny passed off the woman to another young man.

“Then what the hell are we going to do? Sit around and wait to die?” Cried the wounded businessman. His arms flailed, including the ‘broken’ one which was no longer bleeding.

“Hello, what do you think I’m here for?” Danny asked him.

“I don’t like your tone. Superhero or not, do you have any idea who I am?” He puffed himself up.

“Annoying?” Danny interrupted before he could say any more. “Creating panic that is not helping? That’s a good place to start.

“Let the Flaming Mystic do her job!” Another man stepped forward. “We’ll all get out fine with her.” His tone was calm and authoritative, His suit slightly crumpled from the crash but still gave off the aura of put togetherness. The the other man quickly shut up and Danny inhaled.

“Thank you. Anyway, we can’t sit around and wait for rescue.” Danny held out a hand for Laura’s light. The reporter handed it off hastily and Danny shone it at the ceiling. “See the cracks? This place is unstable. I can hold it up, but that won’t help for long if we can’t find a way out of here.” The ceiling buckled as she spoke and she threw up telekinetic barriers to hold it in place. Water trickled down and a few pebbles fell, but Danny was more concerned with the tons of rock above their heads. She handed Laura back her pen light, and the reporter shone it around the cavern.

“Look, what’s that hole?” She pointed the light at a hole in the ceiling near the wall. A few rusted ladder rungs clung determinedly to the wall below it, as though it was an old service hatch. Danny made her way over, careful to keep the barriers strong and gestured to Laura to shine her light up the hole.

“It looks safe.” She squinted up, then floated herself higher to get a better look. “Yeah, it’s the sewers. There’s another solid ladder to a manhole up there.” Danny lowered herself back down. “I can lift you all up, but it will have to be one at a time and from below. Someone needs to volunteer to go up first to help everyone else up.”

“I’ll do it.” Laura instantly stepped forward.

“How do we know that you aren’t a selfish bitch who is going to abandon us the minute you’re clear.” The businessman spoke up again. Danny and Laura shared a look of exasperation.

“If you think that, then that’s exactly what _you_ would do. No one else is thinking it.” Danny said. “Laura first, she’ll help the rest of you out.” She didn’t give any warning before she lifted Laura through the hole and into the sewers above. The light quickly vanished, but a few of the wiser passengers whipped out their phones and turned on flashlights that were installed in the devices. “Alright, who’s next?”

It was an efficient process, lifting the other passengers up. Exhausting, but efficient. Between keeping the ceiling of the cavern, which was the floor of the sewer, from collapsing and lifting body after body, Danny tired quickly. Laura helped everyone out to the manhole, the cover of which Danny also had to lift, because no one else was strong enough to do so from below. That was especially difficult, as moving things she couldn’t see always was. Danny was simply thankful that the car was only half full; she only had to rest for a few moments between lifting the last civilian and herself out of the cavern.

“Laura, get out of here. It’s just me left, and I won’t be able to hold the ceiling long once I leave the cavern.” She shouted up. There was no answer, so with a deep breath Danny lifted herself through the hole. She was shocked to find Laura still there, grabbing her forearms with practiced ease and pulling her through the hole.

“Come on, let’s go!” She shouted Danny out of her shock. Well, she had a part in getting Danny to move. The faltering of her barriers for a millisecond was a better motivator. She all but shoved Laura up the ladder, following right at her heels. Laura pulled her up once again.

“Everybody get back! The street is going to collapse!” Danny shouted at the top of her lungs. Luckily they were off of the main roads, closer to the river that ran through the city. There wasn’t as much traffic there. Danny crawled away from the manhole as she let her barriers down completely. As she predicted, the street crumbled behind her. She stopped as soon as she was out of range of the newly created sinkhole and laid down on the pavement, exhausted.

“I guess now would not be an appropriate time to ask for an interview.” Laura grinned from where she sat next to Danny.

“You would-guess-right.” The heroine panted. The distant wails of sirens alerted her to the soon arrival of the police. “I-have-to-go.” She huffed. “Police means-paperwork.” Though it made her body and mind screech in protest, Danny stood up. She saluted Laura with two fingers before launching herself through the air, landing on a moving transport truck that had cleared the sinkhole in the road and was moving in the direction of her apartment.

“Wait, my friend!” Laura shouted. “I didn’t see Danny get out!” Danny felt a twinge of guilt as she ignored Laura, even though she was worried about her wellbeing. That would be fun to explain if she ever met Laura as Danny Lawrence again, rather than the Flaming Mystic. Instead of worrying about it, though, Danny continued to ride the truck through the city, lying close to it to avoid detection. She was more concerned with whether or not she would run into Carmilla before she had a chance to change, and if she did how she would explain...everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and you can come hang out with me at [thecarlonethatalsowrites](thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com)


	4. Chapter 4

As it turned out, Carmilla was out when Danny returned home. Probably on a booty call somewhere, which was impressive seeing as it was only 6:50 when Danny got home. It was a pleasant surprise that ended a not so pleasant mission. She went straight for the bathroom, hoping to shower off the grime of sewers and sweat from her exertions. The warm water soothed her aching muscles. Apparently being thrown violently from a high speed subway car made one more sore than she originally realized.

The subway car incident was all over the news. Each station had reporters swarming the scene, reporting damages, injuries, and possible causes. Some of the stations theorized that the collapse of the subway was a terrorist attack. Others blamed faulty engineering. No one had any solid evidence yet, but everyone was eager to get an interview with at least one of the passengers. Danny was the only one who managed to avoid the press; everyone else simply milled about until authorities got there.

“Thus far, there has only been one confirmed missing person. Laura Hollis, who has refused an interview, told us minutes ago that her acquaintance did not get out of the sewer to her knowledge. Unfortunately, she did not know the woman’s full name, her only description was “A tall, red haired woman named Danny”, and rescue crews have not made it through the rubble enough to find a body…” The reporter on the television blared. Danny smiled, of course Laura would have refused an interview; she would want to cover the story herself. Then she felt guilty again that Laura was worried about her. She flipped the station, both bored by facts that she already knew and to put Laura out of her mind.

“Every passenger has different accounts of what exactly happened in the tunnels below Silas City, but the one constant has been reports of the Flaming Mystic appearing and rescuing everyone. She fled the scene before police arrived, but was definitely there, as all sixteen accounts detail her being part of the rescue...” The next station was flashing a picture of her as the Mystic across the screen, and Danny quickly turned that one off too.

“Mayoral candidate Nathan Sorano was traveling on the train when it was stopped unexpectedly earlier today. Mr. Sorano is running his campaign as the people’s candidate, and has met heavy opposition from potential supporters and big businesses, although at the moment he is at the top of the polls…” That caught Danny’s attention. The circumstances of the accident were suspicious enough, but now...

Her phone ringing distracted her from the news stories and her train of thought, so she turned the television off before answering.

“Ah Danny you’re okay!” The person on the other end of the line said without so much as a greeting. “At least, okay enough to answer the phone.”

“Hey LaF.”

“Don’t you hey LaF me! I saw the news, and I want details! Are you hurt? Did my suit hold up? Was there dust? Did the mask help with said dust? Is Laura Hollis the same reporter that interviewed you at the bomb site?”

“Woah, slow down!” Danny interrupted them. “I can only answer one question a a time .”

“So spill! Answer the ones I’ve already asked!” LaFontaine cried.

“I’m fine, just bumps and bruises. And your suit held up great. I got thrown through the window of the car, there’s not a tear on it. No dust, just a lot of mist and water. Yes it was the same Laura Hollis, and before you ask, she doesn’t know who I really am.”

“Shit Lawrence, you got thrown out of a train?” They said. “You’re pretty hardcore, these news reports have you pegged as a hero. Again. Vigilante life has got you hooked up.

“I’m not a Vigilante. I’m a registered and practicing hero. There’s a difference”

“Yeah, except the bad guys don’t ask to see your license before shooting at you.” LaFontaine pointed out. “Why did you register anyway.”

“Are we really going to get into this?” Danny complained as she stood up and walked to the kitchen. If she was going to go through this, she may as well have something to drink to hold her over. “You know already.”

“I guess not, seeing as we’ve gone back and forth forever.” Danny almost dropped her glass of water in shock.

“Who are you and what have you done to LaFontaine.” She teased. LaF scoffed from the other end of the line.

“Even if someone had kidnapped me, it’s highly unlikely that you wouldn’t notice some anomaly in our conversation.”

“Good to know.”

“Anyway, I was just calling to check up on you, see if you needed any help with repairs on your suit.” They changed the subject. “I gotta go, Perry is coming over, but if you need anything feel free to call.”

“Alright, see you.” Danny hung up on her friend. She took time to worry briefly about whether or not she had work tomorrow, but relaxed when she realized it was Friday.

Danny sat on the kitchen counter, alternating between sipping her water and yawning. Whenever she used her powers to the extent that she did today, she really felt the drain in energy and hydration. She was going right to bed after she finished her water.

She didn’t actually finish all of it, cheating by dumping the last quarter of the cup out in the sink. She left the cup in the sink, knowing that if Carmilla wanted to yell at her Danny could simply point to the coffee table where Carmilla’s mess still sat. Danny jumped off the counter and stretched upwards, groaning as she did. Her fingers crashed into the ceiling painfully, and her pleasant groan turned into one of pain. Yeah, it was probably time for her to get to bed, especially if she was tired enough to forget how low the ceiling in the kitchen was.

It didn’t take long for Danny to fall asleep after she stumbled down the hallway to her room and into her bed. She almost tripped over Bagheera on her way, but managed to hop over him when he meowed indignantly.

“Super reflexes.” She mumbled to herself before she conked out.

* * *

 

Danny was awake by ten o’clock the next morning. She smiled, pleased that her body clock was still working fine after her self induced coma. She hauled herself out of bed, eager for morning coffee. To Danny’s complete shock, Carmilla was already up. She was sitting at the kitchen table, facing the hallway where both of their rooms were with one leg crossed over the other. Her elbow rested on the table, supporting her hand which was holding one of her protein shakes. Danny’s mask sat on the table near Carmilla’s elbow. She froze in her tracks. Shit.

“Good, you’re awake for fucking once.” Carmilla set her shake down.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Is something wrong?” Danny asked cautiously.

“Have you seen the fucking news?! Heard about the subway accident?” Carmilla cried. “About the missing ‘tall red haired Danny’? Ring any bells? And then this mask that I found in the bathroom.” She tossed the mask across the room towards Danny. She caught it with ease. “I thought you were dead.”

“I’m fine. And probably not the only person who fits that description.” Danny said, avoiding Carmilla’s questions with a vague answer.

“It was your train! And this mask, what the hell is that?”

“I missed the train yesterday. A-and that’s a Winter Soldier mask by the way. I’m holding it for a-a friend.” She explained.

“Really? It kind of looks like the one that the Flaming Mystic wears. And she was conveniently on the train too. Which friend are you holding it for?” Carmilla demanded as she stood up and stalked over to Danny. “Because right now you’re being very suspicious and very unlike the Danny I know.”

"You don't know them, their name is LaFontaine. And just because you hate the Mystic doesn't mean that you have to hold a full blown interrogation on your roommate!"

"I don't hate the Mystic." Carmilla snarled. "I want her dead for what she's done." Her fists balled and her eyes welled up with tears. Danny placed a hand on her shoulder and despite her own rising anger forced herself to calm down.

"I know you do. Do you really think that I wouldn't try to explain myself if I was her?" She said, trying to de escalate the situation. There was a tense moment when Danny thought that she would explode and yell again, but then Carmilla released one of her fists to wipe at her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry." She stepped away after a moment, back towards the table. “I over reacted.”

"What is this, Carmilla Karnstein apologizing?" Danny clutched her heart dramatically. "Oh, what has the world become?!"

"You should have been a drama major." Carmilla grumbled. "And I'm emotionally unstable at the moment. That's _it_."

“Very well, Vampira. If that’s it…”

“Yeah. I, um, I’m going to go to my room. If you disturb me then I won’t think twice about eviscerating you and kicking your mangled corpse through my tiny window. I’d like to see if you’d hit the ground faster than someone smaller.” Carmilla shuffled out of the kitchen.

“If you need me just call.” Danny said after her. Carmilla mumbled something that sounded like ‘I won’t’ before slamming her door behind her. Danny frowned, she knew about her roommate’s grudge against the Flaming Mystic. She should have been more careful. “Why is my life so complex.” She groaned as she collapsed into the chair that Carmilla had previously occupied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come hang out with me at [thecarlonethatalsowrites](http://thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com)!


	5. Chapter 5

Danny decided that it would be a good idea to monitor the city that night. She snuck out when she was sure that Carmilla was asleep and headed to her favorite spot to watch and feel for disturbances. It was a bonus of her powers, she could feel when something was wrong instead of having to search out trouble. That plus her ease of travel made the top of a building the best place to search for something to beat up. And brood at, she guessed.

“Hey Mystic, haven’t seen you around in a while.” Danny jumped as Krusher’s voice sounded from behind her. She leapt to her feet and spun around to face him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She raised an eyebrow. Krusher put his hands out defensively.

“Nothing, nothing! Its just, you didn’t look too good after the bomb incident. And I can usually find you patrolling the city or something.” He paused. “I saw the news. Good job!”

“Yeah.” Danny turned away from him and settled back into her position on the edge of the roof.

“You don’t seem to happy about it. Dude, you saved sixteen people. That’s badass!” Krusher sat down on the roof next to her. He leaned back, relaxed as though he wasn’t perched twelve stories in the air.

“You’re right, I’m not happy.” Danny said. “It’s too suspicious. Tunnels don’t just collapse like that, and Nathan Sorano was on that train. He’s running for mayor if your neanderthalic brain couldn’t remember.”

“Someone’s salty today.”

“I am not _salty_. I was almost dead, along with the only guy who’s going to help this city. For real, not like we do.”

“We do help. We get in there and bing bang boom, done with the bad guys.” Krusher elbowed her and Danny had to shoot out a hand to balance herself. She glared at him.

“You nearly pushed me off a building!” She cried.

“You could have caught yourself. Besides, its your fault. If you sit down you’ll be more stable.” He shrugged. “There’s no need to be the dramatic hero all the time. Relax and enjoy helping people bro.”

“You’re a moron. And wrong, we don’t help. We just keep the circle of violence going. People like us can’t help the way people like Nathan Sorano can.” Danny stubbornly remained crouched.

“Alright, you’ve obviously got some tragic, superhero backstory going on here. Lay it on me. I may not look it, but I’m the best listener. And I take care of my bros. Spill.” He turned to her eagerly.

“There is no backstory. I just think that there’s only so much we can do hiding behind a mask.”

“Then why are you still wearing it?” He smirked and leaned back on his elbows. “Checkmate.”

“That’s chess, dumbass.”

“Whatever.” They fell silent until Krusher cleared his throat. “But still, I think that it would have been sick if a guy in a mask was there when I almost died. Like, before I got my powers.”

“Oh no. We are not doing this. No superhero bonding here.” Danny protested. Krusher just grinned.

“This is totally a thing that’s going to happen. I’m going to tell you my backstory, that supports why I think we are awesome, and helping, and then you’re going to tell your backstory that makes you think we’re lame.”

“This isn’t a comic book, Krusher.” She tried to stop him in vain. He plowed on.

“My story is so great it should be a comic book. It’s got an accident, chemicals, bad guys. And you can be my sidekick.”

“Except for the fact that I was born with my powers, unlike every sidekick ever. And I do all of the work.”

“Exactly. The sidekick does everything and the hero gets the credit!”

“There are no sidekicks in this relationship!” She exclaimed.

“Shush! Story time.” He held up a finger near her mask covered mouth and Danny blinked. She sighed reluctantly and settled into a sitting position so that she could listen. Her calves were cramping anyway. “Ok, so it was a while ago, but do you remember when they were transporting all those chemicals? For that factory? Of course you do, you’re a genius. Anyway, they had these big trucks, just driving around everywhere. The chemicals were, like, experimental, yeah? So anyway, I’m just minding my own business, crossing the street, when one of these trucks comes around the corner like really fast. It tried to avoid me, but transport trucks, ya know? It fell, I got crushed and a nice chemical bath. Well, nice isn’t exactly the right word, but you know.

“So I’m under that truck, and I’m still like a teenager. In my superhero phase. And I was like, hoping that one of my heros would show up and get me out, you know? But it kept getting harder and harder to breathe, and there were people screaming and sirens happening and I was dying. That’s when I realized that no guy in a mask was gonna show up and save me. I kinda just, accepted it. But then I was like “no, I don’t want to die”. So I pushed the truck off of me. Flung it halfway across the street. They chalked it up to adrenaline and the truck starting up again, but I knew better. Plus I kept breaking glasses and shit, which was super annoying.” Krusher paused and glanced down at his hands, and Danny almost felt bad for the guy. It must have been a rough transition. “I knew that I had the power to help. I didn’t want anyone to feel like I did that day. So I registered. Plus chicks dig super heroes.” All of Danny’s pity fled instantly.

“Do you even have a secret identity? Or any shame?” Danny scoffed.

“Of course I do. No one believed me, I have no idea why. Its cool though, I get plenty of hotties on my own.”

“I’m sure you do.” Danny rolled her eyes.

“So.” He nudged her again. “Your turn.”

“I never agreed!”

“Well you have to now. We’re bonding here.”

“You just told me a story about how you almost died, then how you tried to use that story to hook up with girls. That does not count as bonding.”

“Yes it does, you now know my super secret spandex wrapped secret.”

“Gross.” He gave her puppy eyes and she heaved a sigh. “Fine, if it’s what you really want.”

“Only in the spirit of bonding.” Danny had to restrain from rolling her eyes.

“I killed someone.” Krusher’s eyes widened in shock. “Broke my best friend’s heart. Took down a few buildings. Eh, make that a city block. Became an arguable villain for a a few months, then got some sense knocked into me, registered as a hero, and started fighting crime instead of making it. That’s really all.”

“What kind of crap story was that? That was just a bunch of facts! Where’s the cool heroics?!” Krusher exclaimed. “Also, you killed someone?”

“On accident.”

“Still. And you didn’t say where your powers came from. Like, you said you were born with them, but why?”

“It would take too long to explain the whole story. And I’ve never understood my powers, or how I got them with no near death experience needed.” Danny leaned back on her elbows. “And me telling the facts behind my intense psychological damage is not a crap story.”

“Ah yes, talk about that!” He shifted his weight, twisting to the side and supporting himself on one elbow.

“Not happening.” Krusher pouted.

“Come on, I bared my soul to you, whatever that means.”

“Pick that one up from the internet?”

“Maybe. Anyway, what about your friend? What happened with that?”

“I’m living with her. She doesn’t know who I really am, but she hates the Flaming Mystic.”

“Is she hot?”

“Krusher!” She sat up quickly. “No! This is so wrong!”

“What? I have needs.” He sat up too. Danny glared at him.

“Not only is she so not available, but she would tear out my spine if I told you any more.”

“Aw come on. She’s only not available because she hasn’t met me.” He wiggled his eyebrows, to Danny’s disgust.

“I killed her girlfriend, idiot!” She yelled. “Trust me. She. Is. Not. Available.”

“Shit, Mystic, I didn’t mean-”

“Whatever.” She cut him off. “I should probably go. It’s late.” She stood up and Krusher scrambled to his feet behind her. “This has been a little too much bonding for me.”

“Are you okay? Are we okay?” He asked.

“There really isn’t a we. The two of us punch people and get shot at together. That isn’t a we.” Danny said dully. She prepared to jump off the roof and fly away when Krusher grabbed her arm.

“But I mean, can we still go punch bad guys and get shot at together?” His eyes were wide and pleading. He reminded her of a kicked puppy. Danny sighed, she had noticed his use of ‘bad guys’.

“Yeah, we’re cool.” Krusher let go of her.

“Cool, see you at the next robbery.” He backed away, and Danny leapt from the rooftop. She didn’t look back at Krusher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading! As always, you can hang with me at [thecarlonethatalsowrites](thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Elsie is violent and convinces Danny to be too

 

Danny went to the gym on Sunday. She had a feeling that she could get some use out of the punching bags. Carmilla still had not left her room, even though it had been two days since their fight. Danny felt awful about driving her friend to that. She resolved to bring home Carmilla’s favorite pizza as a peace offering. And to get her to eat something.

 

The gym was a few blocks away, and it was early enough to avoid the worst of the city foot traffic if one stuck to the less used roads. Danny walked to the gym. The morning air was oddly crisp; city odors were muted by the colder weather. It was a nice change, she decided, an spurred her pace to a near jog. She reached the gym quickly.

 

“Hey, Danny!” Elsie waved at her from halfway up the steps leading to the entrance of the gym. Danny smiled at her gym buddy.

 

“What’s up Elsie?” She took the stairs two at a time to catch up to her. Her ponytail bounced against her back.

 

“Oh you know, being bored without you. You haven’t been here all week, and you weren’t answering your phone! Is everything alright?” Elsie hoisted her gym bag higher on her shoulder.

 

“Just busy with work and stuff.” Danny answered as smoothly as she could. “The gym really lacks that much without me, huh?”

 

“Oh definitely. And there’s safety in numbers. Do you know how many guys have tried to flirt with me in the past week?”

 

“No.”

 

“Too many!” Elsie cried. Danny laughed at her.

 

“I’ll fend them off for you today.”

 

“You’d better.” Elsie pointed firmly at her with a mock scowl. Her face split into a grin though, so Danny knew she wasn’t really mad. “What are you planning on doing?”

 

“The punching bags are calling my name.” Danny cracked her knuckles.

 

“Oh sure, just busy with work and stuff.” Elsie rolled her eyes and Danny raised an eyebrow. “Oh come on, we both know that you run off your stress and punch off your frustration. So come on, what is it? Your roommate driving you crazy? Your love life or lack thereof? Spill.” Elsie held the door for her and followed her in.

 

“Elsie, its fine. Nothing a few...hours...of training won’t help.” Danny dug around in the outside pocket of her bag for some change to rent a locker with. “Plus its none of your business, you snoop.” She said lightheartedly.

 

“Oh please. I don’t have my boxing stuff today, but if I did we would be in that ring and you would be bleeding. From the face and the heart.” Elsie punched her palm a few times after she put her bag in her own locker.

 

“Really? Are we forgetting how I kicked your ass the last time we fought?” Danny grinned back and pulled out her hand wraps. Elsie paused in her stretches.

 

“Last time it was my heart that was bleeding.” She protested.

 

“Over a one night stand. I remember.”

 

“I resent that. She was hot. My dark haired creature of the night. And she didn’t call me back! She still hasn’t by the way.” Elsie muttered the last part.

 

“Right, what was her name again?”

 

“C-uh...dammit.” She scowled. “I hate you.”

 

“For knowing you can do better?” Danny flexed her wrapped hand to make sure it was tight enough.

 

“Exactly. And besides, how long has it been since you got any? Huh? Thats what I thought!”

 

“You got me there, Heartbreaker.”

 

“Dude, that’d be such a wicked supervillain name!” Danny froze as someone else entered the conversation. “I mean like think about it bro!”

 

“As an English major, I have to say that sentence was atrocious.” She said without turning around. She knew it was Kirsch.

 

“Aw come on, don’t hate hottie.” Kirsch leaned up against the lockers between her and Elsie. He jerked his chin towards Elsie. “Sup other hottie?” Danny swore she heard her friend growl.

 

“You do realize that she is wrapping her hands to hit things, right?” Elsie said. Danny slid on her sparring gloves rather than the lighter bag gloves she was planning on using and moved around Kirsch to stand next to Elsie. He turned to face them, still leaning against the lockers but with his other shoulder this time.

 

“You box? Dude that is so badass!” He exclaimed.

 

“Do you? Because if you do I’ll kick your ass right now.” Danny snarled. Kirsch suddenly looked uncomfortable.

 

“Hey, when’d the topic turn to asses.” His voice broke and he cleared his throat.

 

“Why did you change the topic? Scared you’ll be beat by a girl?” Elsie taunted. “That is so sexist.” Kirsch looked even more uncomfortable. He even crossed his arms defensively and stood up.

 

“What? No I just, uh, I don’t really-”

 

“Kirsch!” Another guy appeared next to the stuttering dudebro. “Are you going to take that? Come on you can totally take her!” The new guy held up his fists with a playful smirk.

 

“I-I don’t have my, um, my gloves. Yeah, don’t want to, uh, wreck such a hot face by breaking it.” Kirsch chuckled awkwardly.

 

“You can borrow mine bro. Your honor is at stake here!” He put a hand Kirsch’s shoulder.

 

“Will…” He started, but Danny interrupted.

 

“I’m up for a fight.” She said. The guy named Will grinned.

 

“She’s got spunk! Come on, let’s get you ready.” Will shot Danny the ‘I’m watching you’ sign. “See you in the ring, five minutes.” He dragged a helpless Kirsch away.

 

“Ha ha! Finally, you get to teach that guy a lesson!” Elsie cheered. “Break his nose for me, will you?”

 

“I don’t know Elsie, he looked kind of uncomfortable.” Danny said, suddenly having second thoughts.

 

“Oh come on, he makes us uncomfortable all the time. Does that make him stop?”

 

“No. But we’re better than he is.” She said as they headed off to the ring.

 

“Danny.” Elsie turned to face her and placed her hands on her shoulders. “It would do me great happiness to watch you beat the crap out of this guy. Also, you vowed to fend them off for me earlier. I think this counts.”

 

“Alright, alright!” Danny swatted her hands aside. “I’ll beat the crap out of him if it makes you happy, coach.”

 

“It will.” Elsie said solemnly.

 

“I’m just glad I have my real gloves.” She muttered as Kirsch and Will approached the ring.

 

“Let’s get this started. Are you going to ref or am I?” Will asked Elsie.

 

“Go for it.” Elsie said with mock grace. She held up the ropes for Danny while the two boys moved to the other side of the ring.

 

“Okay, what rules? You can decide since I’m reffing.” Will looked to Danny.

 

“Mark of Kingsberry, five rounds. No headshots though, because neither of us have headgear.” She paused before adding “Don’t want to kill off the few brain cells you have.” Kirsch seemed completely unaffected by the insult.

 

“Okay, then the rounds will be decided by how many hits you guys land, from shoulder to belt.” Will announced and stepped back. Danny fell into a boxing stance and put her fists up. Kirsh dropped into a vaguely similar stance but kept his hands down at his sides. “Ready? Fight!” Will called, looking at his watch.

 

Instantly Danny threw a punch that hit Kirsch square in the chest. It was like punching a wall. He hardly seemed fazed by it and simply took a step back and put his hands up in a clumsy block. Danny rained blows down on him, but despite his sloppy positioning Kirsch blocked every punch with ease.

 

Danny was vaguely aware of Elsie cheering her name from her corner and Will biting his lip nervously in Kirsch’s, but her main focus was on her target. There was something in his eyes that almost made her want to hold back her blows. But then he lifted a hand a bit too quickly as a block and Danny sprang away from him, thinking he was about to throw a punch. No fist came her way though; Kirsch’s stance remained purely defensive. They stood off, Danny bouncing on the balls of her feet, Kirsch remaining in place.

 

“Time!” Will called out. “Fighters, return to your corners.” Danny jogged back to where Elsie stood.

 

“Ok, you won that round, but also proved that you can’t just beat down his defense. If you get creative, he’ll be hurting tomorrow!” Elsie cheered. She was way more into this than Danny was, and she wasn’t even the one fighting. Danny rolled her shoulders and watched Kirsch and Will muttering in Kirsch’s corner. She saw them do some kind of bro hug, then Kirsch headed back to the center of the ring. Danny jogged to meet him.

 

“1-0, challenger Danny.” Will announced. He must have been listening to Elsie and caught her name. “Fight!”

 

“There is one bonus to this fight.” Kirsch said.

 

“What’s that?” She threw a light punch which Kirsch blocked with ease.

 

“I know your name now, Danny.” The jibe was half hearted, there was no real menace behind it, but it still angered her. She was so careful to remain nameless, and now her efforts were ruined. The sudden desire to knock his teeth in struck her, and she attacked again.

 

The second round was much like the first, although neither of them managed to land a blow. Not that Kirsch had thrown a punch yet. Will separated them again and they returned to their respective corners.

 

After some not so helpful advice from Elsie (“Beat his ass into the ground! I know you can!”) Danny trotted back to the middle of the ring to wait for Kirsch. Will clapped him on the shoulder this time before sending him to the middle with Danny.

 

“1-0, challenger Danny. Third round...fight!” Kirsch put up his careless defence again and Danny punched at him a few times before growling in frustration. This was going nowhere.

 

Then Kirsch pulled his hands within inches of his face and turned his head to spit on the floor. Danny saw her opening. She quickly jabbed at his hands, hitting them with all her strength. They were so close to his face that Kirsch could not help but punch himself in the face. He hit his nose and spun, off balance. Danny threw another punch to his ribs and he staggered, but remained upright. Will called the round before she could hit him again.

 

“Excellent!” Elsie held her hand out for a fist bump, which Danny gave her. “He’s probably going to retaliate now, so be ready for that. You’ll catch him off guard when he attacks.”

 

“Got it, thanks coach.” Danny grinned.

 

“Hey, remember if he wins this round then you’ll have to win the next or there’ll be a tie breaker.” She nodded at Elsie’s words. “Good, now go win!”

 

Kirsch was waiting for her in the center already. He had wiped up his nose bleed the best he could with his forearm, but blood still trickled from his nostril. She noticed that it glistened on his black gloves too. His features were different this round, harder, less like a kicked puppy. Now he looked like he was ready to fight. His stance was more serious too, guard still clumsy but his feet were moving. Danny got into position too. Will had barely yelled fight when Kirsch rushed her and started punching. This was more like it.

 

However, the strength in his blows didn’t match his technique. He moved his arms lazily, as though he was making no real effort, and his gloves didn’t make serious impact with Danny’s gloves or arms. But each hit felt like a rock being flung at high speed. She knew from experience. Kirsch pummeled her, bruises blossoming from each blow, and it was all Danny could do to stop him. He threw another punch, harder than his previous. It would have made solid connection with Danny’s left glove, but Danny moved slightly to the right. The punch glanced off her glove and snuck behind her guard to smash into her shoulder. She caught a brief view of his look of terror when he realized that he hit her, and then all she knew was pain as she was flung aside into the ropes.

 

She must have backed out for a few moments, because the next thing she knew she was laying on the mat with Elsie kneeling over her. She groaned, and Elsie exhaled in relief.

 

“Come on Danny, can you sit up?” Her friend asked. Danny hauled herself into a sitting position, and nearly blacked out again at the pain in her shoulder. She took a few gulps of air while waiting for the pain to subside. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Kirsch standing a few feet away, furiously scratching the back of his head with one hand and looking torn on whether or not he should move closer.

 

“I think my shoulder is dislocated.” Danny said through gritted teeth. Elsie’s eyes flashed and she whipped around to face Kirsch.

 

“What the hell! This is a boxing match, not a gladiatorial fight! What did you do to her?” She snarled. Kirsch took a step back.

 

“I-I’m so sorry! I just-”

 

“He hit my bad shoulder at a funny angle.” Danny interrupted, narrowing her eyes at Kirsch. There was something off with this guy, but she couldn’t tell what.

 

“Shit your bad shoulder? I didn’t mean to, I swear! I’m so sorry!” He rubbed at his eyes with one glove.

 

“It’s fine, no worries.” Danny said as she stood up, teeth gritted against the pain. Her left arm hung uselessly and painfully at her side, but she put her right arm up in a ready position. “What are we waiting for? It’s been at least one minute, and I can still fight!” Will hesitantly walked to the center of the ring, but Kirsch shook his head.

 

“I forfeit.” He said.

 

“What!?” All three of them said at the same time. Elsie instantly started yelling at Kirsch, prompting Will to start yelling at Elsie. Kirsch stood silently and sent a tortured look over to Danny, who was also silent. She bit her lip, torn but knowing that she had to make a decision.

 

“Elsie.” Danny stepped forward and placed a hand on Elsie’s shoulder. “Enough. You heard him. I win.” Her words were clipped, but they made Elsie freeze in place.

 

“Kirsch, you can’t do this! You can’t lose to a girl” Will turned his attention to Kirsch, eyes blazing. His face was dark and looked like it took on new shadows in his anger.

 

“Actually, I can. Its Mark of Kingsberry rules bro, and the contestants have the option.” Kirsch met his friend’s terrifying glare solidly. “I won’t fight a hurt opponent, hottie or bro.” He didn’t say another word, and instead walked out of the ring. He tore off his borrowed gloves as soon as he ducked under the ropes. Will glared after him.

 

“Come on, we better get you to a hospital.” Elsie held up the ropes for Danny. “Do you have money for a cab? I’m not letting you take the subway halfway across the city.”

 

* * *

 

 

Danny fidgeted with the piece of paper in her pocket as she stood on the steps of her friends house. She rang the doorbell, but felt awkward standing on their front porch. LaFontaine lived a several miles outside of the city. Their suburb was quiet; even though it was five in the afternoon Danny was the only person in sight.

 

It was two days after Kirsch had dislocated her shoulder. She would have come the day it happened, but she was too out of it the day Elsie brought her home from the hospital and the day afterwards. Danny chuckled at herself; she meant to bring home pizza, but ended up with a sling and pain meds. At least it got Carmilla out of her room, but Danny would have to keep an eye on her meds.

 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Danny heard LaFontaine’s heavy lock click and the door opened. LaF looked like they had just gotten out of bed, with their hair sticking up everywhere and rumpled t-shirt. But Danny knew better. Despite their best attempts to clean up, their face was slightly smudged with soot and their eyebrows were smouldering. Plus they were wearing jeans. No sane person wore jeans to bed.

 

“Your eyebrows are on fire.” Danny said as a greeting. LaFontaine’s hands flew to their eyebrows and furiously patted them out.

 

“What happened to you Lawrence? I haven’t seen anything on the news.” They stepped back to let Danny inside and nodded at her sling. Danny shrugged her good shoulder.

 

“Boxing accident. It happens.” She said casually.

 

“Not to you.” LaFontaine scoffed. “Do you want me to fix it? I think I’ve finally gotten my healing accelerant working.”

 

“I don’t know, is my tongue going to be blue for two weeks again?” Danny raised her thankfully present eyebrows at the scientist. LaFontaine rolled their eyes.

 

“I told you, the dye was a little stronger than expected, but necessary to prevent the flavoring from being dissolved by the other components. My mistake.” They lead her through the house, which was a mess, and into the kitchen, which was also a mess, where they grabbed the stove and pulled on it with all their might. “A little help please?” They grunted.

 

“But I’m wounded!” Danny said sarcastically. LaF shot her a look and she grinned, moving the oven aside telepathically. Hidden beneath it was a flight of stairs that lead down to LaFontaine’s lab. Danny slid the oven back into place behind them. It was a good thing that LaF’s skills in the kitchen basically consisted of setting things on fire, because the oven was just a prop.

 

The lab was only slightly neater than the rest of the house, probably due to the recent implosion that happened at LaFontaine’s main work table. They usually kept the lab meticulously clean, but a twisted heap of charred...something sat in a ring of soot that was several times too large for it, indicating that it had been significantly larger than it was currently. The ceiling above the workspace was also charred, but that was just another layer of discoloration. In both Danny’s and LaFontaine’s experience, no one tended to look up.

 

“Perry would be disgusted if she came down here. Or maybe have a heart attack.” Danny informed them.

 

“Perry doesn’t know about this place. Or you, for that matter. She would have an aneurysm if she found out about that.” They shot back. Danny looked around with a bemused expression.

 

“Is an aneurysm really worse than a heart attack?” She mused.

 

“Medically speaking...oh nevermind. Just come here and we can try this thing out.” They beckoned for her from near a shelf full of beakers and Danny went over. Some of the beakers were bubbling and sizzling, but LaFontaine ignored those and pulled down a test tube of clear liquid.

 

“It was blue last time.” Danny commented as they unstopped the tube and poured some into a measuring spoon.

 

“Yeah, that was the dye. Which also made it taste like cotton candy.”

 

“That was cotton candy?” She peered over their shoulder as they poured four tablespoons of the liquid into a cup.

 

“No one appreciates science any more! That was an artificially made flavour, made right here in my lab! It was chemicals Danny! Isn’t that so cool?” Danny sighed heavily and LaFontaine stuck out their tongue. They handed her the cup. “It definitely doesn’t taste like cotton candy anymore. More like…” Danny knocked back the solution and nearly gagged. She forced it down and coughed and spluttered while LaFontaine hurried to get her a cupful of water.

 

“Skunk and vinegar!” Danny cried after gulping down several beakers full of water. “And is this safe?!” She shook the beaker in the scientist’s direction.

 

“It’s fine. I had to order a new set after an...unfortunate lab accident. I haven’t used it yet. And yeah, exactly why I was trying to flavor it. It should kick in in a few minutes, you’ll feel the burn then but be fine within the hour.” They leaned against the counter. “I assume that this isn’t the only reason you paid your lowly scientist a visit.”

 

“Yes, my lowly scientist and dearest friend who saves my life constantly and helps protect me in the field.” Danny laughed and LaFontaine grinned. “But you’re right, I do need something.”

 

“Always. What is it?” She fished in her pocket and pulled out the newspaper clipping out.

 

“I know that your specialty is biology, but you said you knew a computer guy.” She handed them the clipping, which was a recent article of Krusher with his picture. “Do you think he could, I don’t know, photoshop the mask off of him? I need to know who he is.” LaFontaine raised an eyebrow at her. Or, scrunched their forehead where their eyebrow used to be.

 

“Jp is way above photoshop. He’ll have your guy in a few days.” They paused. “Not to be all nosey, but it’s called a secret identity for a reason. Are you sure you want to violate your partner like this?” Danny grimaced.

 

“Oh, its not a violation. Trust me, I have a hunch. If I’m right, then he’s been flirting with me for months. Without the mask.”

 

 

[   
](http://archiveofourown.org/users/thecarlonethatalsowrites/pseuds/thecarlonethatalsowrites)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. This one was a little late going up, but I lost track and its up now. I hope you enjoyed it, and as always you can come hang at [thecarlonethatalsowrites](thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com)


	7. Chapter 7

LaFontaine’s healing accelerant worked like a charm, just like they said it would. Danny had full mobility of her arm in forty minutes, and the bruises on her forearms faded long before that. She stuck around LaF’s house for a bit, both to catch up with them and to allow them to monitor the effects of their creation. Although she was fine, they both agreed that Danny should keep the sling for appearances sake. Too many people would be too suspicious, Carmilla especially. At least she could go out as the Mystic without the damn thing.

Danny was on her way home with a few vials of the healing accelerant (“For emergencies” LaFontaine said) when she heard the sirens. She strained her ears, listening closely. They sounded like police sirens; a lot of them. With practiced ease Danny slipped into the nearest alley, undetected by the rest of the crowd. This might be a job for the Flaming Mystic. She wrinkled her nose at the hiding places; a dumpster and an air conditioning unit. Of course, what else was she expecting besides places that would make her sling and clothes smell terrible no matter which option she choose. Danny glanced over her shoulder. No one passing the alley even acknowledged it, let alone the tall heroine who stood in the darkness. She decided it was worth the risk to fly to the roof and stash her stuff there.

She stayed low to the rooftop as she changed, slipping the vials LaFontaine gave her into the pockets of her vest. The people in the street below seemed unconcerned about the sirens- this was a major city, after all- but Danny knew that this was something bigger. Call it a gut instinct, courtesy of her powers. When she stood up on the roof the pedestrians finally looked up. Even from a few stories up she could hear the gasps. She did cut a very imposing figure.

But she couldn’t worry about that now, something big was going down. Flying was faster than rooftop jumping, so Danny took a step off the building and lifted herself into the air, quickly ascending above the city. The flashing lights of the police cars caught her attention even from halfway across the city. She swooped towards them as fast a she could. Hopefully Krusher would catch wind and show up soon; even though it pained her to admit it he was a reliable partner.

“What’s wrong officers?” Danny landed smoothly next to the police barricade, which formed a semicircle around the front of a bank. Danny could easily guess what was happening, but she didn’t want the recently startled officers to do anything rash while she had things handled.

“Flaming Mystic! Its a 10-31-uh, I mean an armed robbery.” One of them informed her. She grimaced. “And they have hostages. We can’t get in without civilian casualties.”

“Don’t worry about it, just catch them when I flush them out.” The officers nodded and one of them relayed the message through the police radio. Danny took off again, heading towards the bank.

The building was two stories, the front of the building acting as a lobby with an open ceiling to the second floor. Danny assessed the situation through a second story window, careful to remain out of sight. As far as she could tell, all the robbers were either on the first floor in the lobby holding hostages or in the safe stealing. She could see three masked figures from her position at the window. They didn’t seem to be paying attention to the second floor, so Danny ever so carefully unlatched the window and pushed it in. Hardly daring to breathe, Danny slid into the building. The robbers were all armed, and with a start Danny realized that they were dressed identically to the men who tried to blow up the warehouse last week. Except this time they had masks covering their faces.

Now that she was in the bank, she could see that there were actually four robbers in the lobby. And that they were arguing with a man who was standing defiantly against them. All four of their guns were trained on him, but he didn’t flinch. His back was turned to Danny so that she couldn’t see his face.

“Look, you don’t have to keep all these people hostage. Just pick one or two and let the rest go. Hell, just take me. I’ve got some major bros who would pay my, uh, what’s the word? Ransom? Yeah, that’s it!” One of the robbers took a step towards the man and jammed his weapon at him.

“Shut _up_  you imbecile.” He growled in a tone that suggested they had been arguing for a while. Danny sucked in a breath. She had to do something. She searched the guns for ways to jam them, but they were modified so that nothing short of bending them in half would prevent them from firing. Danny cursed silently. Turning on the safeties would have to do.

“Just shoot him already and be done with it.” One of the other robbers grumbled. Danny tensed, but before she could leap into action the man who was threatening the hostage turned his head.

“No. We were ordered, no casualties.” He snapped. Ordered? That was interesting, they weren’t acting alone. Danny didn’t have time to ponder this, it was now or never if she was going to save this idiot. With a running start she vaulted over the railing on the second floor and plummeted towards the robber. Just to show off, she preformed a flip in midair before crashing into the gunman feet first. He fell like a sack of potatoes beneath her and the other robbers gasped in shock. Danny reached out and grabbed the barrel of the closest gun and yanked it from it’s owner’s hands. She smashed the butt of it into their face.

“Nice timing bro!” The man she lept down from the second floor to save threw himself into the fight. Danny almost felt like yelling at him, but he finally turned his face to her and grinned. It was Krusher, in civilian clothes and his mask.

“You idiot!” Danny gasped. “Do you ever use your brain, or do you just think those five pounds are a built in workout for your neck muscles? You don’t even have your costume on! What kind of protection is _cotton_!?” She psychically grabbed one of the guns and tore it out of the grasp of the guy holding it. Krusher rushed them.

“Yeah, so? The mask is the only thing that counts. And I’ll be fine thanks.” He responded, dodging around the robber instead of punching them. Despite the robber’s best efforts to pound him Krusher never threw a punch. Krusher spun to avoid a punch, and his opponent fell off balance because the blow didn’t connect. A perfect target for the hero’s raised fist. But Krusher hesitated, and then the sound of a gunshot echoed through the bank. Everything seemed to move too fast and too slow at the same time.

Blood blossomed at Krusher’s side, burning red against the white of his collared shirt. He gasped and looked down, falling to his knees as he pressed a hand against the wound. The robbers he and Danny were fighting looked just as surprised as the two heros, until clacking footsteps sounded from the same place that the shot came from. The robber Krusher was fighting turned, and as they moved out of the way Danny caught a glimpse of two more gunmen stalking out of a hallway, both with large black bags over their shoulders. One of them was holding a gun that was leveled at the space where Krusher was standing.

“We didn’t have any orders against shooting these two. They’re expendable.” The shooter purred. Then he re aimed the gun so that it was pointed at Danny and pulled the trigger.

But Danny was still in the time warp. With force she didn’t think was possible, she reached out with her powers and redirected the bullet so that it hit the leg of the robber she was fighting before Krusher was shot. She went down with a scream and Danny saw the shooter’s eyes widen in shock behind his mask.

“You’ve just made the worst mistake of your pitiful life.” She snarled through gritted teeth. Reaching out with a hand, she grabbed all three guns with her power. Her fist clenched and the weapons bent violently with an unpleasant squeal. She supposed the hand was dramatic, but it was easier to focus her power with physical movements. Plus it scared the shit out of the robbers.

Danny glared at Krusher’s adversary and almost unbidden they flew to the side, crashing into the wall and slumping down unconscious. She tossed the one she was fighting after them, then turned her attention to the final two, who stood frozen in fear. She stalked towards them, pressing the one who didn’t shoot her partner to the ground, hard. The shooter tried to turn and flee, but Danny reached him first and wrapped a hand around his neck. She lifted him into the air, ignoring his hands clawing at her own and his strangled gasps as Danny slowly choked the life out of him.

“Who’s expendable now?” She growled. The other robber tried to push up against her power and she slammed them cruelly into the ground. They thrashed and Danny vaguely registered that she was probably suffocating them. She didn’t care. She just stared at her victim’s eyes as they gradually became more frantic. “You’re going to regret shooting my friend.”

“Mystic!” Someone yelled, and Danny’s attention snapped to them. Her eyes widened as she noticed that it was Krusher, who was swaying on one knee as he tried to stop his blood from pouring out onto the floor. “Don’t.” She instantly dropped the shooter, who collapsed to the ground coughing, and rushed over to Krusher. She released the other robber, who had passed out moments ago.

“Lay down, you’ve been shot.” She said sharply, fire still burning in her blood.

“Nah, just a graze.” He lifted his hand to show that, though it bled profusely, the bullet wound was not that deep. “I’m all good. Bleeding, but good.” His face twisted in pain told another story, but Danny turned to sarcasm instead of sympathy.

“Are you kidding? This much blood is nothing to a girl.” She scoffed, reaching for a vial of LaFontaine’s healing accelerant.

“What do you mean?” He asked and she paused.

“Uh, blood sacrifice. Shark week. Axe murderers.” Danny shoved the vial into his hands. “It’s how we occupy our thoughts. Don’t drink that until I get you some water and the bullet out of you.” She added as he raised it to his lips. She stood, ignoring his look of confusion, and spied a water cooler nearby. Danny could have used her powers, but after a glance at the robbers she decided against it. God, she hadn’t lost control like that since...since a long time ago. The hostages had cleared out, hopefully sometime before her display, so the floor was clear as Danny went to get Krusher a cup of water. It was just the two of them and the six robbers left inside. She carefully averted her gaze from her victims; at least no one was dead.

“This is going to hurt, but I’ve got to get the bullet out. As soon as I do, drink that like a shot, then the water.” Danny said as she held out the paper cup for her injured partner.

“What is this anyways?”

“It’s a healing accelerant. It’ll mend your wounds.” She explained she pushed up Krusher’s shirt in order to get a better look at his wound. She took a deep breath and without warning grabbed the bullet as quickly as she could and yanked it out using her powers. Krusher screamed through gritted teeth, but quickly knocked back the healing accelerant. His eyes bulged at the taste and he quickly downed the water.

“That tastes like paint thinner!” He spluttered, wiping his mouth.

“How do _you_ know what paint thinner tastes like?” Krusher opened his mouth to respond, but Danny cut him off. “Nevermind, I honestly don’t want to know.” He shrugged.

“What are we going to do about these guys?” He asked, changing to the subject and gesturing to the robbers lying about. Danny glanced around the room, taking stock of the six people in various states of consciousness. The one Danny choked was still laying on their back, gasping for breath. The only other robber who was moving was the one who was shot. She was moaning in pain, curled around her injured leg. Danny realized that she might bleed out before the cops got her medical attention if she didn’t do anything.

“If you feel up to it, drag them to one place. I’m going to make sure this one doesn’t die on us.” Danny jerked her head to the robber. Krusher nodded and waved her away. She stood and walked over to the robber. Krusher stayed where he was, but Danny had no doubt that he would be up and about in a few minutes.

“Hey.” She kneeled next to the downed robber. “I’m going to stop the bleeding, okay?” With no response other than a glare, Danny tore off one of the robber’s long sleeves and wrapped it around the bullet wound. When she finished with a firm knot she leaned back to examine her handiwork. “It’s not pretty, but if you keep pressure on it you’ll live.”

“Go to hell.” The robber spat, startling Danny. “You prance around, pretending to be all righteous, but you’re really no different than us. I know what you were, what you are, and so do they. In their hearts.” Danny drew back with the feeling that the robber wasn’t talking about her companions. She did not have the emotional patience to deal with this.

“No, you’re wrong. I made mistakes, but I recognize that and every day I try to fix them. I’m _nothing_ like you. So you can shut your mouth and never speak another word to me again.” She stood angrily. The robber’s eyes burned behind her mask. Danny signaled to Krusher, who was struggling to stand, to bring the other robbers over here. She pointedly ignored the one glaring at her.

“You can’t hide from the past, especially when it’s as dark as yours.” The bleeding robber called out as Danny walked over to the nearest body. She balled her hands into fists, it was so not worth it but she couldn’t help but want to rip this criminal to shreds. Instead she used every remaining scrap of her patience to ignore her and drag the other robbers to the center of the lobby.

“Leave them for the cops; we’ll exit out the front and I can fly us both away to avoid the cops.” Danny told Krusher, who nodded as he casually picked up two bodies with no disconcernable effort. His shirt shifted and Danny saw that the gash in his side had already scabbed over and was smaller than the original wound.

The two of them worked quickly, and soon all six would be robbers lay in a pile in the center of the lobby. Danny purposefully left the one she choked for Krusher to deal with. She didn’t want to see the look in their eyes that would inevitably come if she approached them again.

“Teamwork bro.” Krusher held out a hand for a fist bump, which Danny returned after a long pause and an exasperated eye roll.

“We should get out, like now.” She jerked her head to the doors. Surprisingly the police didn’t storm the building when the hostages rushed out. They probably left her to deal with it.

“Wait, I can’t leave without my bag.” Krusher moved over to the sitting area where all the hostages had knelt. He started searching through the various bags and purses left for his own.

“What could you possibly have in there that is so important? Doritos?” She heaved a sigh.

“Dude, my costume.” He shot her a look. “Ah! There it is.” He lifted up a gray backpack and unzipped it. “And yeah, Doritos too.” He pulled out a half empty family sized bag.

“Come on.” She rolled her eyes and walked to the door. Crunching on a mouthful of chips, Krusher rezipped his backpack and followed her. Danny pushed through the door and held it for her partner. Ready for the cops, she placed an arm around Krusher’s waist. “They’re all yours, officers.” Krusher threw an arm around her shoulders, then Danny took off, Lifting them both into the air and leaving the gasping officers and crowd behind.

Danny flew the two of them several blocks away before landing on top of a building. Krusher stumbled on the landing, not used to the abruptness of the roof. He made no move to step away, and they spent several moments with their arms around each other. Danny cleared her throat abruptly before extracting her arm from his waist. Krusher rushed to follow her example. He ran a hand through his hair as they stood off in awkward silence. The air was thick enough to cut it with a knife.

“So are you going to tell me what that was about back there or am I going to have to beat it out of you?” Danny broke the tension with the question that hung in the air since the bank. Her words sounded far too harsh against the previous quiet.

“W-what are you talking about.” There it was. The same hesitation in his words as in his fighting at the bank.

“I mean why you hesitated, You wouldn’t have gotten shot if you took that guy down.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Explain.” She ground out. Krusher slumped in defeat and let out a sigh.

“Okay, but no laughing at me.” Danny raised an eyebrow, signalling for him to continue. “A couple of days ago, I got into a fight. No, not that kind of fight, it was like boxing or something. But like, I couldn’t control my own strength. I hurt her pretty bad, even though I wasn’t trying at all.” He looked away in shame and with a start Danny realized that he was talking about her. _This_ guy was Kirsch? “I didn’t want to hurt anyone else. I-I keep seeing her face dude.” Her heart clenched in sympathy. She knew all about seeing the faces of victims. She couldn’t address the fact that she knew who she was at the moment, Krusher was having a different crisis.

“Ki-uh, Krusher, I’m sure she doesn’t blame you. It was a fight, accidents happen.” She took a step towards him. He really felt this bad about it?

“I dislocated her bad shoulder.” He said dully. Danny had to bite back reassurances that she was ‘just fine’ and ‘really, it's no big deal’.

“That’s rough.” She said instead.

“I didn’t even want to fight her. My bro forced me into it.” Kirsch, no, Krusher was sitting down on the roof now.

“You didn’t do it maliciously. Besides, dislocated shoulders aren’t too bad. She’ll be back to normal in a few weeks. You and I have to get back into heroics after worse and with less time.” She sat down next to him. “But Krusher, you have to understand. Maybe it was a fight, but neither of you meant any real harm. Those guys at the bank, they were going to hurt and maybe kill people. You have to know the difference.”

“Is that what let you try to kill them?” Krusher asked. Danny sighed.

“You and I are very different people. When they hurt you, they unleashed a dark part of myself. A part that I usually keep under very tight control. But you don’t have that in you. You’re good, through and through. Believe me, I would know if you had that darkness in you.” Throughout her speech Krusher’s lips slowly turned up in a smile.

“Wow, you really care that much about me, hottie? Guess that bonding sesh really worked, huh?” And there it was. She almost liked him better when he was moping. She punched him solidly in the arm.

“I will throw you off this building if you tell _anyone_.” She threatened as Krusher rubbed his arm.

“Geeze okay! Truce, truce!” He shrunk back, but the smile was still plastered across his face. Danny took a deep breath. She had to tell him that she knew.

“Krusher, I-” More police sirens cut her off, driving right past the building where they were sitting.

“It’s another 10-31, 23rd and 14th. All available units please respond!” She heard one of the officers shout from their car. She shot a pained look at Krusher, who waved her off.

“Go, you can get there faster without me. I’ll be right behind, we can talk later.” He pulled out his suit and Danny hesitated, torn. But she had a responsibility, and that made her march to the edge of the building.

“By the way, Krusher. I see the faces of all the people I’ve hurt too.” She said over her shoulder, before flinging herself off the building to fly to the crisis as fast as she could.

On her way, she had a few minutes to mull over the information she received. So Krusher was Kirsch. It certainly explained a few things, and it was gratifying to know that her hunch was correct. But Danny still had so many questions. Was Kirsch’s ego an act? Or was he really so different with the mask on? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Kirsch was no different than Krusher personality wise. But Krusher seemed so much more responsible, beneath the bro exterior. And he flirted with her 200 times less, which was a nice change.

Danny shook her head as she approached the intersection. She had a robbery to stop, and thoughts of figuring out who Kirsch, Krusher, whatever would quite possibly distract her. And get her shot. That would be embarrassing, especially since she had just lectured her partner about distracted fighting.

She slipped into the second bank, which was set up similarly to the first, in much the same way. The police hadn’t arrived yet, so it was imperative that she get in as quickly as possible. But it was too late, nine masked robbers were shouldering black bags, which Danny assumed were full of cash next to a group of kneeling hostages. Seeing no other course of action, Danny tried to catch their attention.

“Stop where you are and put your hands where I can see them.” She commanded from the second floor. When they looked up, she floated herself slowly over the railing and then to the floor. The robbers didn’t take her orders, instead pointing their guns at her. “That wasn’t a suggestion.” Danny growled.

“Neither is this.” One of them responded, and pulled the trigger. Danny forced the bullet into the floor but while she was distracted the eight other robbers snatched up hostages at random and pointed their guns at their heads. The ninth, the one who tried to shoot her, chuckled as he grabbed a hostage by the front of his shirt. “You may be able to redirect our bullets, but they can’t.” Danny grit her teeth but stayed where she was, trapped.

“Now you stay where you are and put your hands over your head.” Another robber demanded. With a glare Danny slowly raised her hands. The robbers inched away towards the exit, dragging their whimpering hostages behind them. Danny let them gradually open the doors and exit the building before she raced out after them. They couldn’t escape that quickly.

It turned out she was wrong. The first chance they got the robbers ditched their hostages and rushed for a nearby manhole. Danny rushed through the doors of the bank just as the last one disappeared through the hole. After a quick visual check to confirm that all nine hostages had been left behind, she rushed over to the manhole and tore the cover off. She was met with a spray of bullets, which she had to dive to the side to avoid. The deadly rain stopped after a moment and Danny hesitated before dropping down after them. By the time she dropped into the sewers, however, there was no sign of the robbers or the money they stole. Danny had to admit defeat and she climbed back to the surface.

By the time she ascended, the police had arrived. They shot her hopeful glances, but Danny shook her head bitterly. They got away. The thought put a sour taste in her mouth.

“Did you get em?” Krusher dropped to the ground next to her, panting from his dash to the bank. He had changed into his costume.

“No, they escaped.” She spat. “Sorry. I’m mad at myself.”

“You tried your best dude.” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She flashed him a brief smile before a familiar tiny reporter was upon them.

“Did I hear correctly? They escaped?” Laura asked them, pen at the ready.

“Yeah, we were tied up at the other robbery at 28th and 15th.” Krusher responded.

“It was a setup!” Danny exclaimed

“What?” The reporter sent her a confused glance.

“The robbery we were at, I suspect that it was a distraction to hold us and the police up. There were more robbers at this one and they were better armed.” She explained.

“That would make sense, at the other bank those guys took forever and were super unprofessional. Not that I’m complaining.” Krusher added quickly.

“Laura!” The recognizable voice of Sergeant Ables made Laura turn. “Get out of here! The Chief flayed me alive for letting you so close to that bomb. Don’t you have an elementary school to report on?” He grumbled.

“The weird and wacky at Morgan Elementary can wait, this is an armed robbery! My dad is not going to keep me from my job.” Laura said firmly. Danny’s stomach dropped to her feet.

“Excuse me, did you just say Morgan Elementary?” She asked.

“Yes, and I have separate questions for you, Mystic!” She jabbed a finger at the heroine in question. “No if you’ll let me do my job, Sergent. The people need to know.” Ables grumbled something about how  Laura’s presence put _his_ job at stake, but he stalked off and left them to their interview. Danny let Krusher do most of the talking, only responding with a few words when she absolutely had to, such as reporting on what happened before Krusher arrived at the second bank. Laura was coming to her school! This was a disaster! Krusher wrapped up the interview for the heroes, and Laura thanked him for his time and service. Then the reporter dragged Danny aside in order to talk.

“I suppose you’re being so quiet because you’re guilty!” This tiny woman was a force to be reckoned with. “What happened to my friend at the subway accident?"

“She’s fine, she got out.” Danny ripped her arm from Laura’s grip. “I’m sorry, I can’t answer any more questions.” It was rude, but with a regretful glance Danny took off and landed on top of the building. She didn’t even bother to say goodbye to Kirsch. She was too worried about how she would explain everything to Laura.

“Hey, Mystic wait!” Danny tensed as Krusher called out to her. She turned to see that he had leapt to the rooftop. “You good? You can’t beat yourself up for letting those guys get away.”

“It’s fine Krusher.” She sighed. “Look, I just want to get home, so…”

“Cool, cool.” He nodded. “Uh, can I see your arm?” Danny shot him a confused look, but held out her arm anyway. Krusher whipped out a sharpie and scrawled a series of numbers on her arm. “Here. About our talk earlier. If you ever get overwhelmed, you can call me and I’ll be there to listen. Um, or if something villainy is going down and you need me for that. Either way.” He averted his eyes and quickly shoved the sharpie into the pocket of his costume. Danny realized that she was staring and quickly shook herself into awareness.

“Uh, r-right.” She stuttered, glancing down at the number on her arm. “Ok. Bye Krusher.” She took off again, but not before noticing the sheepish grin that spread across Kirsch’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! As always, you can come hang out at my [blog](thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes! It's been a while since I updated, hasn't it? Sorry, I've been super busy. Also I almost cut off my finger, so typing has been a bitch. I'm back now, so thats good. Also, i'm kicking the schedule out the window, so updates will come when I finish them. Enjoy this chapter!

The first thing Danny did when she got home was dash to the bathroom to scrub Kirsch’s number from her arm. This was not going to be a thing. Not if she could help it. Why did he have to write it in sharpie? By the time she got the ink off her arm her skin was pink and wrinkled. Danny let out a relieved sigh. Now she could ignore this whole situation. She leaned against the bathroom counter and let her head fall back, closing her eyes.

When she did, to her horror, the numbers that previously adorned her arm swam in her vision. Her eyes snapped open with a gasp. This could not be happening. She couldn’t have... _memorized_ it! Almost timidly Danny tried to recall the number and it immediately jumped to the front of her mind. She growled, exasperated. What series of deplorable events unfolded so that she _memorized Kirsch’s number_! She spent so long and worked so hard to avoid him, and now look where she was. Sitting in the bathroom, furiously trying to bleach her brain of something that seemed to be stained too deeply to remove. Danny did the only thing she could. She screamed in frustration.

In the end, and much to her chagrin,  Danny admitted defeat and put his number in her phone under K. It took all her self restraint not to fling the device across the room afterwards. She settled for tossing it onto her bed and putting the last forty five minutes out of her mind. Yeah, that’s how long she agonized over it for. It was just a number, for god's sake. Apparently not to her. Danny defended her decision with the one and only pro that came from it; she could now contact Krusher with the click of a button. She supposed that it would be useful for their after hours activities.

With that matter settled, Danny changed out of her costume for the night. The city could deal with it’s own shit for now. Carmilla wasn’t home, which Danny had to be thankful for. She was careless, barging in in full Mystic garb. Now that she wasn’t in her brain fart frenzy, she took a moment to wonder where her roommate had gotten off to. It didn’t really matter, Carmilla could take care of herself, but it didn’t hurt to wonder. Danny ended up in front of the television, sling and pyjamas on, watching news reports on the robberies and planning out an explanation for Laura when she came to the school. Great, there was that to worry about too.

* * *

 

Danny was forced to go to school early armed with nothing but a feeble excuse for Laura and an impending sense of dread. She forwent her morning coffee; the jitters from the upcoming interview were more than enough to keep her alert for the rest of the day. And for most of last night. A last minute email from the school’s principal requested the presence of the school’s teachers in a classroom, which would be empty before school and perfect for the early meeting. Danny knew that it had to be about the interview. She wished that they got a better warning, but she could make this work. She hoped.

Danny was one of the last teachers to arrive at school. Most of the others milled in and outside of the room. She nodded tersely to her colleagues as they greeted her. Far too tense to converse with them, Danny slipped into the room. It was a fourth grade classroom, which meant it thankfully had full sized chairs instead of the smaller ones for the young children. Sitting in them always made Danny feel like she was in trouble; she was easily one of the tallest teachers and the chairs were small for even a Carmilla sized person. She could sense the relief from the other teachers for the same reason. Even being in the same room as their elusive boss made most of them uncomfortable. They would take what small comforts they could get.

Principal Morgan, or the Dean as she liked to be called, was already in the classroom. Perry stood attentively at her side, but Danny almost didn't notice her at first due to the Dean's commanding presence. She surveyed the room like a hawk looking for its prey; down on it and its occupants. No wonder some teachers preferred to wait outside until the last moment. The Dean's sharp eyes saw everything, were critical of everything. Danny had no doubt that she had cameras monitoring every inch of the school, waiting for someone to toe the line of what she found acceptable in the tight ship of an elementary school.

When the Dean cleared her throat, all of the forced chatter originating from her presence fell to an abrupt silence. The teachers in the classroom quickly found seats and those outside scurried in. Danny found a seat near the middle, where she knew the Dean tended to look the least. The unlucky few who were the last inside were forced to stand, earning them a glare from the Dean. She clearly didn’t enjoy being on equal ground as her subordinates, even though it was clear who was in charge. Perry flashed Danny a quick smile and a thumbs up before the Dean began her meticulously prepared speech.

“Good morning to you, teachers of Morgan Elementary. And what a morning it is, for we have a very special day ahead of us. Our prestigious school has been selected by the Silas Daily News for a special all inclusive report. Throughout the day, a representative from the news shall be visiting us. She will be traveling to several classrooms and reporting on what she finds. So in order to represent our school in the most accurate way possible, I expect you all to be on your best behavior.” She fixed the audience with a chilling stare. “With that said, allow me to introduce Laura Hollis, our guest for today.” The Dean nodded at the back of the classroom where the door was and the teachers- thankful to be spared from having to make the decision whether or not to applaud- turned to catch a glimpse of Laura. Danny followed the crowd’s example. It was easier to blend in if one copied what everyone else was doing, and Danny definitely did not want to stick out.

Laura stood brightly near the door, her smile illuminating the room and cutting through the chill of the Dean’s presence. It did not negate the principal’s presence entirely, but those around her seemed far more at ease than those in close proximity with the Dean. The room turned noticeably polar, and the teachers quickly gravitated towards Laura with handshakes and smiles. Danny looked at the Dean, who looked pleased at the teacher’s warmth towards the reporter, yet a layer of irritation existed towards Laura. Danny guessed it was because the reporter disturbed the power balance in the room.

Danny shook her head; now would be the time to slip away, while Laura was distracted. Who knew, she might not even make it to her classroom, and then Danny wouldn’t even have to lie at all. Laura was so tiny that the mob of teachers effectively blocked her from view, which also meant that she wouldn’t be able to spot Danny leaving. The heroine took the chance and hurried out of the room. She only slowed her pace and took the time to breathe when she reached the relative safety of her classroom. So far so good on her Hollis avoidance plan. Yes, that was her solution to her current predicament.

It was still early in the day- there was still another forty five minutes until the bell rang- so Danny decided to occupy her time with preparation, both for her class and for her after hours sentry duty. She sent a text to LaFontaine, telling them that their computer guy could forget about finding Krusher. She added that if they could ask him to look into what was known about the apparent gang that had recently sprung up it would be great. Then she pulled out her lesson plans for the day and immersed herself in going over them so that she knew them even better than she already did. Maybe if she looked busy then Laura would move on without a second thought. It was wishful thinking, as the reporter was already on an interviewing steamroll, but a girl could dream.

Danny spent her day in a state of constant stress, practically diving behind her desk whenever she heard footsteps in the hallway. If her kids noticed how distracted she was, they didn’t complain, which she was thankful for. At least the clock was located near the back of the classroom, so she could be constantly be checking the time and it wouldn’t look any different that if she focused her attention on her class. The minutes ticked by agonizingly slowly, but with every one that passed Danny became a little more hopeful that Laura would skip over her entirely. She couldn’t possibly interview the entire school. She couldn’t, it just wasn’t possible. Even for one as determined as Laura.

Finally, after Danny had long since exhausted herself with worry, the last bell of the day rang through the halls. She noticed her kids had gotten antsy, which was a one of the reasons that the startling noise didn’t make her snap like the taut bowstring she already was.

“Alright, everyone line up at the door to wait for Ms. Perry. She’s bringing you to the doors today.” Danny said, and all her kids rushed to be the first in line. Perry was perfectly on time, as she always was, so Danny was left alone in her classroom after a short amount of time. She let out a heavy sigh, and collapsed at her desk. She made it. And no Laura in sight either. Danny adjusted her uncomfortable sling; a day in front of fourth graders was tiring enough without the weight of her arm around her neck. Suddenly, she heard a gasp from the doorway. She looked up to see Laura frozen in the hall with her mouth hanging open. She held a recorder in one hand and gripped the strap of her bag with the other, and looked as though she was in mid-step.

“Danny?” the reporter was the one to break the silence. Almost unconsciously Danny hugged her slinged arm tighter to her body.

“Uh, hey Laura.” She said, nerves crackling. She stood up to face the woman in the doorway, who was still frozen in shock.

“You’re okay!” Laura breathed and that seemed to break whatever spell she was under. She rushed into the room and almost full out tackled Danny in a hug so tight that Danny was surprised that the breath didn’t whoosh out of her lungs. Her arm got trapped between their bodies and she let out a gasp of pain. Laura drew back immediately.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry I totally just disrespected all of your personal boundaries and we barely even know each other and oh god did I hurt your arm? I swear I’m usually more respectful. And I guess you’re not really _okay_ because, well, your arm, but you’re alive and-”

“Woah there, Hollis.” Danny interrupted. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” As soon as the words left her mouth Laura’s expression shifted.

“You complete ass- jerkface!” She changed her choice of words as if suddenly realizing that they were in an elementary school. “You let me think you were dead!” Laura whacked her good arm, hard.

“Easy!” Danny drew back in protest of the rough treatment. “You didn’t exactly leave me with a fax number.” Laura pouted at her words, and Danny had to admit that it was adorable.

“How’d you get out of the subway? I didn’t see you. And did you hurt your arm then? What happened?” She asked, her eager tone akin to Danny’s fourth graders. “Did you see the Flaming Mystic?”

“Uh, yeah. Pretty lucky she was there, huh?” Danny chuckled. “I remember that you helped me out, but you were pretty enamoured with the Mystic. I ended up on the other side of the sinkhole; that’s where I fell and dislocated my shoulder when the street collapsed. The paramedics took me right to the hospital.” Good, good. Laura didn’t need to know about the dudebro gymshark that may or may not have been her partner in fighting crime who also punched the crap out of her shoulder in a ‘friendly’ sparring match. That was too complicated, not to mention too Mystic centric. “What about you? I saw that you refused to comment on the news, and you don’t look hurt.” She gave her a once over in a way she hoped seemed natural, and not at all forced like it was. Laura seemed oblivious, so it seemed to work.

“Oh, that’s because I wanted to cover the story myself. That’s front page material right there.” She pouted suddenly. “One of my co workers beat me to it though. It’s okay though, I’ve been doing a lot of work on the Mystic. Got to shake it up sometimes, you know?” Laura rolled her shoulders and a dorky grin split her features.

“Yeah, totally. The kids like it when we do different things.” Danny smiled. Laura seemed to suddenly remember that she wasn’t just there for small talk, and that she had an actual job to do.

“Oh, yeah! So I’m here for my actual job, so do you mind if I…” She trailed off.

“Of course. Here, you can sit, my kids won’t mind.” She pulled out a chair for her guest while she sat in her own. Laura sat and fiddled with the now familiar recorder

“Alright, let's get started.” She brushed her hair back and shifted into a professional voice. “We all know that Morgan Elementary is a very prestigious school, but only the children who attend school here and their teachers have the insider's view. So tell me, what’s it like working here Danny…”

“Uh, Lawrence.” She cleared her throat. “It’s really great; I’ve only recently become a teacher, but Morgan is a perfect place to transition into my career. The expectations are high here, but that’s what’s to be anticipated. Everyone works hard, both students and teachers, and it makes for an excellent atmosphere for learning.” Danny winced at her reply. It sounded too forced and sterile. Exactly what the Dean would have wanted, but it sounded nothing like her. Laura also raised her eyebrows at the answer, but continued asking her questions. Danny struggled under the awkward atmosphere; despite her explanation Laura didn’t seem quite satisfied. Plus she had to do this interview, and it was the end of the day, and she just wanted to go _home_.

“Okay, I think that’s all I need.” Laura finally said, pressing a button on her recorder. “You are officially off record.”

“Oh thank god.” Danny slumped in her chair, relieved that it was finally over. “I swear, I’m not that uptight usually.” Laura giggled

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, I’m actually tolerable.” She paused and bit her lip. “My boss is a bit controlling. Off the record of course.”

“Ms. Morgan? Yeah she seemed...” She searched for the right word for a moment. “Intense.”

“You have no idea. I prefer my eyeballs inside their sockets though, so I’m not talking about her here.” Danny grinned at Laura, who looked away briefly before making eye contact again with a light blush dusting her cheeks

“What about far away? As in like dinner. Tomorrow night?” Danny raised her eyebrows.

“Are you asking me out Laura?” Her grin widened and Laura gasped and reddened even more. She kept eye contact though, even if it wavered.

“Yes?” She giggled nervously, and Danny pulled out her phone.

“Sure! Here put your number in my phone.” Laura returned her grin and took the phone.

“How are you getting home today? Not the subway obviously.” She said as she put in her number. Her own phone buzzed a moment later and she handed Danny’s back to her.

“I was planning on walking. What about you?”

“Oh, I just have to go back to the newspaper building. It’s in the opposite direction from the way the subway travels though.”

“Then at least let me walk you out of the school.” She stood up and Laura followed her lead. “I usually do the rest of my work at home anyway. I swear the Dean has cameras everywhere. It freaks me out.”

“So the school is a wonderful place of learning, but also freaky?” Laura asked mischievously. Danny groaned

“Ugh no, that’s not what I meant. I mean it is, both, but I like it too much here to be put off by a little something like that.” Laura laughed.

“I get it. It’s intimidating to be new in your field and you just want a place where you feel comfortable. I’ve been doing grunt work at the newspaper for so long, then they finally let me out into the real world to do actual interviews and even though it has me running all over the place I wouldn’t want it any other way. And slow down, you titan!” She added, jogging to keep up with Danny’s long strides. Danny laughed, but complied to the tiny reporter’s request. They made their way through the building to the front doors, which Danny held open for Laura. The reporter diverged from Danny’s path after a few blocks with a quick “Ok bye! I’ll text you the address.” Danny smiled the rest of the way home.

* * *

 

“Looks like someone has a date.” Carmilla smirked from Danny’s doorway. Danny jumped, startled, and spun around to see her leaning against the doorframe, casually stalking her.

“Don’t _do_ that! You scare the living daylights out of me!” She cried.

“And apparently the soul of an old woman into you.” Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “Living daylights? Are you serious?”

“ _Yes_.”

“Okay, okay! But seriously, do you have a date? Because if you are, is that what you’re wearing?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Danny huffed, resuming buttoning up her shirt.

“Nothing!” She responded, which would have sounded totally unconvincing even without the light hum and the tilted head. Danny had the distinct impression that her roommate was critiquing her fashion choices. “Just that it’s not what I’d wear. Not if I wanted to have a second date.” She threw up her hands in exasperation at Carmilla’s smirk.

“You wore a corset on the one and only first date I’ve seen you go on.” Carmilla frowned as they simultaneously remembered her first date, but she pushed past it.

“Well if you insist on wearing _that_ shirt, at least wear your leather jacket. You know, the one I so graciously bought you but you hardly ever wear.” Danny rolled her eyes.

“I thought that was a joke.” Carmilla scoffed.

“What?”

“Did you really want us to match?”

“I guess not. But wear it anyway. Trust me.” Carmilla said. “You’ll kill it.” Danny was about to reply, but her phone suddenly started ringing.

“Give me a minute?” She asked and Carmilla slunk out of her room. “What’s up LaF?”

“Lawrence you better get your flaming ass down to the pit, because shit is going down tonight.” They didn’t bother with a greeting.

“What? Did your guy find something?”

“Oh, he found something alright.” She could practically hear the grimace in their voice. “It’s bad. He couldn’t tell anything other than a big group of them gathering together at the pit, but that’s never good. Plus there have been weird shipments of some truly questionable materials that never get fully processed. Some of that stuff _I_ have...trouble...getting.”

“Okay I’m going to ignore your implied illicit activities for now, so-oh wait shit!” Her hand flew to her hair. “I can’t tonight!”

“Danny, what is more important than the city?” LaFontaine asked incredulously.

“No, you’re right, you’re right. Okay, I’ll just cancel and I’ll be at the pit as soon as I can.”

“You better hurry.” They said before hanging up. Danny flipped through her contacts, quickly shrugging out of her button down which left her in the tank top she had on underneath, looking for Laura’s contact. She froze with her finger over the call button, an idea suddenly popping into her mind.

**Danny 5:36 pm**

Change of plans. I can’t make it, but go to the restaurant anyway.

**Laura 5:36 pm**

?????

**Danny 5:37 pm**

Just trust me on this one. Look for a girl with long dark hair and almost as much attitude as eyeliner.

“Carmilla!” Danny sprinted out of her room yelling for her roommate, swinging into the hallway by grabbing onto the door jamb.

“What are you doing Xena? Chicken out?” Carmilla’s head popped out of her room, the annoying smirk back.

“No I have something else...uh very urgent can’t explain but long story short you’re going on a date.” She said breathlessly. Carmilla scoffed.

“You do realize that I haven’t actually showered in two days.”

“Yes, there hasn’t been any hair in the drain. Just throw some deodorant on.” She opened her mouth to protest but Danny just shoved her back into her room. “Seriously you won’t regret it; Laura’s cute enough to give you cavities.” The smaller girl pondered over Danny’s words for a moment.

“Fine. I guess it would be good for me to get out tonight.” Carmilla turned. “And she better not give me cavities, I don’t have a dental plan.” She said before slamming the door into Danny’s face.

Danny let out a breath and quickly pasted the address of the restaurant into a message to Carmilla and sent it. There, now that was handled. She ran back into her room and snatched her balled up costume from underneath her bed. She went to throw her phone on her bed but paused for a moment. Should she...no. But then again she couldn’t go without him. With a groan of frustration Danny opened a new message with the one contact she never thought would use. She texted with one hand and pulled on her red Mystic leggings with the other.

**Unknown number 5:41 pm**

Are you up for a fight at the pit? You better be, like rn, because shit is going down -FM

**Unknown number 5:44 pm**

Its Mystic if you didn’t catch the drift

**K 5:46 pm**

dont get it but ill be there

With that out of the way, Danny rushed out of the apartment with a yelled “Have fun!” to Carmilla. Stairs were quicker, so she ran down the hall to the stairwell and started climbing. She pulled on her vest over her tank top as she ran. Next came the mask and the gloves, which were on just as she burst through the service door onto the roof. Danny wasted no time in leaping off of her building and flying as fast as she could to the pit at the edge of the city.

Aptly named, the pit was a huge, well, pit. It was originally going to be the foundation for a major building, but whatever company that was building there went bankrupt before they even started building. Now it was dug out with tunnels and caverns; the perfect place for criminals to hide out, drug dealers to deal, and apparently gangs to congregate. Danny and Krusher had fought more than one battle there, evidence at their presence came with collapsed tunnels and huge furrows and scorch marks in the dirt. As she started to get nearer, Danny began leaping from rooftops that were becoming further and further spaced. Not many humans could fly, and flying in would be a dead giveaway.

“Dude wait up!” Danny nearly tripped when Krusher called out from somewhere on her right. “Hey. You called, so I’m here.”

“Good to know you’re free on Tuesday nights.” She rolled her eyes.

“So are you.” He shot back.

“No, I had plans.”

“What happened to those?”

“I had to cancel.” Krusher shrugged.

“Whatever bro. Anyway, what kind of shit is going down?”

“I don’t know, but several shipments of suspicious materials disappeared into the system, and there’s been significantly more activity at the pit lately. My contacts told me something was up.” Suddenly the back of her neck prickled unpleasantly. “And I can feel it now too.”

“Okay, so fly us in there, we’ll smash some faces, then get home. Easy peasy.”

“No flying, we’re walking. Otherwise they’ll see us coming from a mile away.” Danny dropped down from the building when they were close enough to the pit. “Come on, act natural and be quiet.” She whispered. Krusher landed beside her, and they both snuck the rest of the way on foot. Krusher slid down the side of the pit when they reached the edge while Danny kept lookout from the top. He signaled for Danny to follow when he determined that it was safe. She slipped after him and they stalked towards one of the tunnels. It was a small one which they were forced to army crawl through, but in both their experiences they knew that it lead to one of the biggest caverns in the pit. Danny lead the way on her elbows and Krusher was right on her heels. The tunnel lead out onto a ledge near the ceiling where they could spy easily on whatever was going down. Krusher’s shoulders got stuck a few times, but he always managed to wriggle through and stayed close behind

After a short time Danny started to hear murmurs from what only could have been a large crowd. Ahead the tunnel lightened, signaling that the cavern ahead was lit. Both pointed to the fact that the cavern was occupied. Danny crawled out onto the ledge soon after noticing the light and voices, staying low to the dirt despite the fact that she could easily stand. Krusher lay on his stomach beside her. Below them was a swarm of the same uniform clad thugs.

“Fifty, maybe sixty I think.” Krusher mumbled beside her. She shushed him with a hand, wanting to hear the conversations going on below.

“When is he going to be here, because if it’s going to take much longer I’m leaving.” One of the goons closest to them muttered.

“Patience, he’ll show.” Someone else responded.

“Who’s he?” Krusher mumbled again.

That’s when everything went to hell.

Krusher leaned a little too far forward; too close to the edge. The dirt crumbled beneath him and with a shout he tumbled forward. Right on top of the goons they were eavesdropping on. He took out two of them, and they groaned beneath him, but the rest turned to him. The cavern went deathly silent.

“Uh, hey, mind if I drop in?” Krusher laughed nervously. Danny barely suppressed a scream of frustration. Now that their cover was blown, she may as well join the party. Which she did, sliding down the stone wall with the help of the grips on her gloves.

“Really? Is that the line you want to go with? Think about your answer, very hard.” Danny said in her best annoyed teacher voice as she blocked a punch from one of the goons.

“Sorry dude. But-” She didn’t hear the rest of his response, because suddenly she was on the ground in excruciating pain. It hurt to even breathe, and it took what felt a lifetime to realize that the cause was a high, shrill noise cutting through her skull like butter. Danny curled around herself in a tight ball, desperately trying to get away from the world encompassing noise.

After what was probably only a moment or two, the sound faded from existence and Danny’s vision returned, albeit very blurry. Standing over her was the blurry figure of a man in a black suit and a mask of shadows. She saw a flash of white on his face and realized that he was smiling. He said something, but to Danny it sounded like he was speaking underwater. The man leaned down and his face became marginally cleared, but then it was replaced by a green blur and before she knew it someone was scooping her up with one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders. It was the last thing she remembered before the pain overtook her entirely and darkness became all that she knew.

* * *

 

Danny awoke to the smell of grilled cheese cooking and the sounds of someone messing around in a kitchen in a bed that was not her own. She groaned loudly at her pounding head. What happened at the pit? Danny kicked off the blanket that was covering her with some difficulty; her limbs felt too heavy and sluggish. Finally she managed to get free and rolled off the bed. She forgot to put her legs out though, and ended up face planting on the hardwood floor. She groaned louder and the kitchen sounds paused. Then she heard- or rather felt- footsteps, and suddenly the door was flung open with an accompanying “Dude you’re alive.”

“Huh?” She mumbled into the floor. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and hauled her into a sitting position. Kirsch’s face appeared in her vision, maskless and smiling. Danny gasped and her hand flew to her face. Her mask was still on.

“Hey, hope you don’t mind the casual wear. To be honest I guessed you figured out my secret identity a while ago. That’s cool though.” Casual wear was generous, as he was shirtless wearing an apron that said ‘kiss the frat boy’ and sweatpants.

“Huh?” She responded again. Apparently she was going to be articulate.

“You almost called me Kirsch at the bank. So yeah, that’s me. I didn’t take your mask off though, because I don’t know how chill you are with me knowing who you really are, you know?” He smiled. “I made grilled cheese though, so if you want to eat you’ll need to take it off. And trust me, you do _not_ want to pass up my grilled cheese.” Finally Danny’s thoughts caught up with the present. She reached up and tore her mask off as she remembered the events of earlier. The sound. The pain. Kirsch picking her up and running. He must have brought her back to his house. Oh god she slept in his bed. Danny opened her mouth to say something, say anything.

“Why didn’t you go after that guy?” She blurted out. Great, instead of gratitude it was rudeness. Kirsch didn’t seem affronted by it, so she tried again. “You idiot, that could have saved us a lot of trouble. Now we have to track him down again!” Danny’s had quickly flew to her mouth as Kirsch’s face fell but it was too late. “I’m sorry, I’m just disoriented and-”

“I just, I didn’t want to lose you. You’re my _partner_ , dude.” He said. He turned away, wiping at his eyes. “That means a lot to me.”

“Kirsch I’m sorry.” Danny’s hand twitched like it was going towards his shoulder, but she kept it firmly in her lap. “Thanks for saving me.”

“Yeah no big. Um, grilled cheese. Gotta get ‘em before they burn.” Kirsch rushed out of the room and returned a minute later with two plates. A smile was back on his face, although it seemed somewhat forced. He was still wearing the apron. “Bon appetit.” He said, sitting down beside her and handing her one of the plates.

“Where’d you learn to cook?” Danny asked as she took a bite. It was delicious; perfectly crunchy and cheesy.

“A lot when I was a kid, but during my college days I was basically like, the chef in our frat house.” Kirsch shrugged. “Sometimes a guy needs something other than Doritos for sustenance.” Danny gasped sarcastically.

“What did you say? I never thought those words would come out of your mouth!” She teased, shoving his bare arm. He leaned over dramatically, a grin on his face.

“Watch the cheese, dude!” Kirsch hugged his plate closer to his chest. They both laughed and continued to eat.

“By the way,” Danny said before shoving the last bite into her mouth. She swallowed. “How long was I out?” Kirsch, who had finished his food three bites ago, took her plate and stacked it on top of his own. He put them up on the bed behind them

“A couple hours. You had that magic healing...thing with you, and I remembered that noise isn’t really your thing. That sonic thingy couldn’t have felt good.” He said. “Well, you threw up on me, so it must have hurt. I figured that you should take some.” Danny gasped and her face flooded with heat. Her hands flew to cover her face.

“Oh Kirsch, I’m so sorry! It’s just migraines and the pain and-”

“Dude it’s cool. How do you think I spent most of college?” Kirsch grinned. “Then again, it was usually my own vomit I was covered in, so…” She groaned and shoved him away.

“Too much information.” He laughed and shoved back. Danny rolled her eyes. She would not be a part of this. Kirsch seemed to get the memo, so he cleared his throat.

“So, um, it-it’s pretty late, and, uh, I didn’t want to wake you up you know. You’re welcome to stay, but I don’t know you can do whatever.”

“What time is it?” Danny asked.

“Almost 11.”

“What the hell were you doing making grilled cheese if it’s almost 11?”

“Hey, a dude needs his cheese.” He grinned, patting his stomach. “So do you want to stay or not?”

“I should probably get going.” She pretended that she didn’t see his face fall slightly.

“Ok, that’s cool.” Kirsch stood up and held out a hand to her. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.” Danny found herself smiling at him and taking his offered hand. He pulled her up with ease, and it took her a moment to remember his super strength. “On they way I’ll give you a semi grand tour.” Kirsch led the way out of the room and Danny followed him. “That’s a thing, that’s a thing, that’s a kitchen thing, and here’s the door thing.”

“How enlightening. I now know where your things are.” Danny said, amused. Kirsch grinned at her and opened the door.

“Don’t leave your mask.” He said as a goodbye. Danny clutched the mask tighter in her hand, thankful that she remembered it.

“Bye Kirsch.”

“See ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and as always you can come talk to me at thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can come hang out with me or talk about this au at thecarlonethatalsowrites.tumblr.com. I'm planning on updating this every two Saturdays, and there are going to be about 20 chapters. I don't know, I haven't decided yet. Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


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